Straight To The Ace
by evefaxton
Summary: Discontinued: There's an illegal poker tournament in the Land of Rice with a grand prize to tempt the nastiest card sharks from all five nations. With more at stake than money, who will win? Leaf or Hawk? ShinoSaku, NaruSasame, KibaHina, SaiKarin
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

This story splits off from the manga after Taka/Hawk (Sasuke, Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin) joins forces with Akatsuki and years later, are still wandering about causing their own amount of trouble in the five shinobi nations.

Enjoy!

**Straight To The Ace: Prologue**

It was past midnight, but the club scene in Fuuma was just heating up. Wagarashi Kyuuroku sat in the largest booth with several giggling girls surrounding him, "I have got connections everywhere sweetheart! If you wanna be in the movies, I can get you in the latest picture. You wanna be a model, I know the hottest photographers that can get your pretty little face into magazines. Fame and fortune, baby! Stick with me and I can get you there!" All the girls broke into a huge chorus of sighs and happy squeals. One even fondly traced the man's mustache to keep his focus on her.

Kyuuroku wiggled his eyebrows and laughed with a girl with dark blond hair. Life had gotten so much better since being kicked out of the Land of Tea by the daimyou. So he lost one race. In the end, he won a new town to rule. When Orochimaru was killed, it left a vacuum of power in his territory that the disgraced Wagarashi family sucked up like a fine wine.

'Oh yes, life is so so good and there isn't anyone that can ruin this for me!' At that moment, a couple of big fellows came into the dance club to lumber their way to the booth and they caught Kyuuroku's attention.

The bigger of the two looked at the table and growled, "You girls are gonna have to leave."

Kyuuroku frowned as the beautiful women scooted off the seats, but he managed to grab a redhead and blond then pulled them back, "I want these to stay, Takishi. Don't worry, they have memories like a sieve."

"Okay then," mumbled Takishi and took a few minutes to translate his message into some sort of code then his brain cells lost the fight, "We've got something great that some Iwa nin sold to us for a pittance. They were passing through town and were in a hurry. Said they didn't need the extra baggage. You really ought to see for yourself. Tell him, Teguse"

"Trust us, boss," affirmed the other, "This is really good!"

Sighing, the man gave each girl on either side of him a kiss on the cheek good bye then slid out the booth, "Alright boys, lead on." He walked out of the club with the thugs on either side of him. They headed down two blocks then followed the stairs into a basement.

Takishi knocked on the door and the slat opened up, "Boss is here. Open up." The slat slammed closed and the door opened, letting the men through. Teguse took the lead through the halls and after several turns, brought Kyuuroku to an unmarked room.

Teguse shouted through the barrier, "Hey Daichi! We're here with the boss. You can let us in now."

Kyuuroku sighed as lock after lock was unhitched, "Whatever you've got for me better be worth it." The door opened from the inside, revealing a young woman tied securely to a chair and a bandanna wrapped tightly around her mouth. Her eyes were unfocused in the glare of the lamplight pointed straight at her face, but the woman's head swung around to glare right at the new man with as much hate as she could muster. Blind or not, she knew he was there.

Filled with dread, he backed up quickly and slammed the door shut, before turning on his henchmen, "Is every one of you out of your mind!? Do you realize who you've got there?"

The men glanced at one another and shrugged together, "A kunoichi?"

"Look at the cloak, you idiots. Red clouds! Red clouds on black sky! If the other Akatsuki find out that you have her here, we're seriously fucked!"

Teguse scratched the top of his head, "Uh but Boss, the Akatsuki are dead. Konoha made sure of that."

"Since when have we ever trusted the word of Konoha. The fact that she's here says there are survivors and even if there aren't any more, you might have set a plague of Leaf nin upon us," Kyuuroku was so angry he was practically foaming at the mouth.

Takishi backed up and waved his palms in the air, "Okay, boss, okay! But what do you want us to do with her?"

"Get rid of her of course!"

Daichi had been listening on the other side of the door and he sighed at the limits of his master's imagination.

"Looks like I'll have to take the initiative," The aspiring young man walked into the hall and whispered in his boss' ear, "Sir, perhaps we should take a moment to relax and see what we can turn to our advantage. Aside from being Akatsuki, she was also a confidant to powerful sannin and helped develop forbidden techniques. That kind of information is valuable to the right people. Secret hideouts, half done operations, rogue experiments, even spies in hidden villages. She may yet bring in some money."

Kyuuroku held up a finger to cut off his right hand man, "Wait a minute, I have an idea! I just might be able to make some money out of your blunder." The two henchmen perked up at the announcement.

The Wagarashi nodded at his own genius, "She has information that is valuable so we'll send out messages to all the crime bosses then sell her to the highest bidder. Let them deal with the interrogation and any troublesome ninja that'll come after her."

"Brilliant, sir. Your mind never ceases to amaze me," Daichi said with true conviction.

--------------------------

Just as a proud Wagarashi Kyuuroku walked out of the alley basement, a shadow from above followed the man until he and his henchmen paused in the middle of the street to flirt with some passing women. The shadow jumped across the building and flew over the men's head. A precise burst of chakra noose from the shadow's hand found a tiny pin that had been attached to Kyuuroku's collar and lifted it up to the sky.

Takishi felt a string brush his ear and he swiped at his ear, "Stupid bugs." Then he and his fellow henchmen chased after their boss as he walked back into the club.

The shadow waited until the men were safely in the building before dropping next to a street lamp. The blond hostess from the club walked out of the darkness and into the light. She raised the device up to her ear and replayed the recording. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she hurried to the other side of town.

The dark blonde walked straight into a lit up gentleman's club hopping with more business than it could it handle. She walked along side the line of waiting men and right past two large bouncers.

"Hey girl, it's me,"The hostess tapped her left temple in salute to the female bartender, who nodded and pressed a button under the counter. The hostess casually walked behind the bar and opened a small section of wall that had been previously locked. A short hallway revealed itself before her with an iron staircase winding it's way up several stories. At the bottom of the staircase was an elderly gentleman sitting at a desk, who peered over his spectacles at the young lady.

"Good evening, Agari-sama," said the hostess after she bowed to her clan leader.

"Good evening, Sasame. A pleasant surprise to see you home early," He smiled gently at the kunoichi who handed him some hastily written notes. He read through the information and handed it back to her.

"Very interesting indeed, but why bother abandoning your shift and not simply write it down in your morning report? You don't usually bring assignment requests to me personally unless there was something extra involved."

Sasame nodded, "Yes, Agari-sama. I want to relay this to Konohagakure." Aside from the rumbling of feet and voices along the stairs, there was a quiet pause as the Fuuma leader studied one of his best operatives.

"I see," he tapped his splayed fingers together in thought then handed her back the notes, "Go ahead, but remember that you're responsible for the team once they get here and it's up to you to keep the current residence of the Fuuma Clan on the down low. Understand?"

Sasame smiled and bowed excitedly, "Hai! You won't regret it, sir." She hurried up the winding staircase, occasionally looking into an open door and waving at other members of her growing family. The kunoichi stopped at one floor in particular to peer into a small room that was filled to the brim with roses and lace. Inside, sat Fuuma Emi, a third cousin on her father's side and most hated rival since childhood.

"Oh Emi-chan, guess who?" Sasame winked at the other blond, who looked up from her complicated primping in the mirror. The woman's mouth dropped open and she squeaked in anger.

"What? How did you get the night off," exclaimed Emi as she hopped up from her seat.

Sasame grinned brighter and blew an air kiss before slipping through the hall filled with wandering people.

Emi fumed as she buttoned up her dress and yelled down the stairwell, "That's not fair! Agari-sama, how come you let Sasame play hookie?"

"Because she actually gets shit done," boomed a deep voice from behind the bathroom door across the hall, "Versus someone who considers drinking and carousing with customers as work."

'I'm a hostess, Hanzaki," She screeched through the door, "That's what we're supposed to do, ya' big lug!"

"No Emi," There was the sound of a flushing toilet and Hanzaki came trudging out the bathroom with a folded newspaper under one arm, "You're a kunoichi posing as a hostess looking for secrets to sell to the highest bidder and so far these past three months, you haven't come up with diddly squat." The bulky man dwarfed petite Emi, but that never stopped her from sticking out her chin and glaring daggers at her older cousin.

A redheaded fellow quickly passed between the two then pinched his nose shut, "Damn it, crack a window already!"

"Do what he says, Hanzaki. I'm not the only one in this family that thinks you're revolting," said Emi with a haughty flip of her hair.

The redhead spun around long enough to yell, "I was talkin' about that stank you call perfume, girl."

She scowled as chuckles from several floors above and below echoed around her, "Whatever, losers! Why the hell I did have to be born into this scavenger clan? First chance I get I'm outta here!" Then she sashayed into her boudoir and slammed the door to the broom closet called her room.

As she climbed the stairs up to the roof, Sasame ignored the hustle and bustling of so many people squeezed into every available space behind the bar. When she pushed through the tiny door, the noise of the building died away and leaving the soft fluttering of resting hawks of the clan's rookery. She wrote down the encrypted message and attached it to the bird designated for Konoha. As the bird flew off into the night, Sasame nervously bit down on her nail, hoping beyond hope, that the message would deliver the one person she had been dying to see for ten years.

"Sasame, whatcha' doing back from downtown so early? I thought you had the late shift," came a warm voice from behind.

Sasame turned away from the starry sky and saw Fuuma Kanpou walking through the rookery towards her. Tall, handsome and suave, this guy had girls eating out of his palm all the time. Even Sasame caught herself staring at him from time to time. She couldn't help it. The way his soft gray hair would nearly fall into his eyes and an alluring smile reassuring her that everything would be alright, reminded Sasame of her dear cousin, Arashi, who died many years ago.

She returned Kanpou's smile and whispered excitedly, "I did, but I came across some pretty sweet info that Konoha would die for. I just finished sending out a hawk."

Kanpou clucked his tongue and shook his head at her, "Sharing valuable secrets with the Leaf again. You're always a soft touch when it comes to Konoha. Why is that?"

She bristled under his steady gaze then tried brushing aside what he implied, "Quit with the guilt trip, Kanpou. 'Cause you really suck at it."

He just shrugged and stepped further into the woman's personal space, "I'm doing nothing of the kind, but I'm sure I am not the only one who's noticed your little favoritism."

A part of her wanted to stay put and pull him closer, but Sasame ultimately stepped backwards to a more comfortable distance, "I owe them my life, okay. And in a way so do you."

Kanpou rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, "Orochimaru was a loser. I still can't believe that our family fell for his bull, but you were a smart girl, even back then."

Heading off another come on, Sasame grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs, "Never mind that now, Kanpou. What's done is done. Why don't we go downstairs, you can buy me a drink, and I'll tell you all about one helluva shinobi named Uzumaki Naruto."

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AN: I know it looks weird, but this is just setting things up. It really is a ShinoSaku. Lady Laran on AFF bemoaned that Naruto didn't get his happy ending in Bugger Up and I had to agree. So this time around, Naruto gets a crack romance pairing of his own.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter One**

It was almost three days after the message bird was sent to Konoha when six distinct tourists casually strolled up under the town gate with a rickety sign above greeting them. The midmorning sun shone on the kanji barely hanging on by some rusty nails.

"Looks like we m-made good time," said a pale young lady with long dark hair and she turned to a man with a long coat and pulled up hood, "You were right, Shino. Skipping the inn last night saved us money and eight hours of travel time."

The guy covered head to toe in a gray trench coat nodded to his companion in acknowledgment and was the first to step inside the city limit with the others following his lead.

"Welcome to Fuuma Alley," read a fellow with red tattoos along his cheeks and standing along side a huge dog, "Yup, we're definitely at the right place. Smell those yakisoba stands, Akamaru." The dog nin barked excitedly and licked his chops.

As the six strangers walked into the town, a shadow watched them from high on the roof then ran ahead to inform her superiors. Shino glanced over his shoulder when the shadow disappeared then carried on.

A blond man, sporting whisker markings on his face, punched the air happily and shouted, "Kyaaah! Look out underworld, here comes Uzumaki Naruto! Cause he's ready to take names and kick ass!"

A woman the same age with chin length pink hair pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Naruto, what the hell are you doing? You promised everyone that you'd blend in with the crowd and not stand out."

Another arriving tourist slid across the ground, waved a fistful of money in the air, and screamed, "Woo baby! Someone point me to the slots 'cause I'm ready fo' my money! Money, money, money!" The group watched the stranger jump off his knees then scurry down the street into the nearest casino.

"You forget, Sakura," said the dark haired guy with brushes and scrolls poking out from his back pack, "Naruto has been here before."

An annoyed Sakura thumped Sai in one ear and grumbled, "So have I!"

Keeping in character, an evil grin grew on Naruto and he rubbed his hands together eagerly, "So where we are heading first? Cheesy slot machines? The seedy poker tables? Smoky pool halls with the sexy waitresses? Heh heh!"

Kiba smacked his own forehead, "Oh hell, he's channeling Jiraiya." Akamaru whined and shook his large head with his master.

Sakura looked around the street store fronts for any clues and didn't find anyone she recognized, "Our orders were to meet with our contact in Fuuma Alley, acquire the target and not much else after that. The message seemed pretty confident that we would find our informant."

"Or they'll simply find us," finished Shino, glancing from side to side, he pointed left to a bustling side street, "We'll go this way."

Highly irritated at the abrupt order, Naruto spun around on his heels and walked backwards in front of the group, "Oi, oi, oi! I still don't get why Shino's the leader on this mission! How come I wasn't picked? I got all that training in legendary Myoboku, learned Toad Sage secrets, and kicked some serious ass afterwards. Honestly, I should have skipped chuunin all together."

"Because Naruto," interrupted Kiba matching his volume with Naruto, "Jounin must show leadership qualities that balance the importance of the mission with the welfare of the team, not just use kick ass jutsu." Akamaru barked in agreement with his master and got a raspberry in one floppy ear from Naruto.

Before the dog could snap at Naruto, Sakura yanked her teammate back and poked him in the middle of his forehead in annoyance, "In addition, outta all of us, he has the most experience leading a mission. So shut up with the whining! You're giving everyone massive headaches."

There was a short grunt of agreement from Shino and the group bumbled about the downtown area. Tourists and natives alike wandered about the streets, barely noticing the casually dressed shinobi. There were a fair amount of people hanging out in every alley and the occasional brave criminal standing in front of corner stores.

As normal folk squeezed in and around them, Naruto leaned back a bit and observed the load on his pink teammate, "Dang, got enough scrolls there, Sakura? You must have the whole library right there."

Sakura adjusted the straps of her heavy pack and rubbed the small of her back, "Yeah, I know it's a lot, but we may run into Sasuke and his gang. I like being prepared for anything."

"At least someone else on this team is thinking ahead," mumbled Shino.

All of a sudden, a loud and obnoxious bell went off from the casino the group happening to be traveling by. As streamers and balloons floated from the ceiling, people inside the building were jumping off their seats to find the lucky winner. A little old lady was hopping up and down in the seat, clapping her hands as the machine in front spat a mountain of coins at her feet. Team Seven moved in closer to the entrance and watched the crowd gather around the little old lady.

"Uh, N-Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan," stammered Hinata as she reached to her friends, "That's not a good idea. Maybe you shouldn't."

Kiba pulled her off to the side where Shino was already waiting, "Let them learn the hard way, Hinata."

Then the casino host appeared among the crowd that gathered at the entrance with Team Seven and shouted out loud. "We have a winner today, folks! Come on in and enjoy our loose slots. You know you want to! First three games are free," and he held out a box full of tokens for anyone to take.

The excited crowd behind Team Seven grew threefold and stampeded through the entrance, crushing the surprised three under their feet. When the smoke cleared, Team Eight returned to the casino doors and looked down. Twitching ever so slightly, Sai, Naruto, and Sakura were face down on the floor with a trails of muddy feet running across their backs.

With a lopsided grin, Kiba squatted down and propped open Naruto's eyelid, "Need a hand up?"

After scraping the other team off the floor, the shinobi continued on their way through the growing crowds. As the noon hour drew closer, more workers and people streamed out of the hotels. Perhaps on their lunch breaks or recently rolled out of bed, but just about every one of them headed straight to some gambling establishment to try their luck at some quick cash.

As the Leaf nin strode past a kyabakura called Club Lie Down, Kiba took in a quick whiff of the area, recognized a scent from when they first entered Fuuma Alley, and smirked, "You catch that Shino?"

Their hooded leader nodded once, but kept walking along without a hint of anxiousness, "Sai probably already knows."

"We should tell Naruto and Sakura that we're being followed," mumbled the Inuzuka nin.

"Oh Kiba, it's alright," whispered Hinata with a smile and she gave him a light tap on the shoulder, "If you say anything, it'll spoil the fun for them."

Kiba paused for moment as his eyes betrayed a fondness for the girl then quickly he covered it up by barking out a laugh, "Fine then, Hinata. You're always the sentimental one."

A flash of hurt crossed Hinata's face and she withdrew slightly, "Of course... sentimental."

The group blundered along the street then Sai pointed to a design scrawled into a large gate painted green, "Isn't that the symbol of the Fuuma clan? Perhaps we should check it out."

Not realizing how Sai was leading him by the nose, Naruto followed suite and helped Sai push open the wooden gate, revealing a long alley with a dead end and high walls.

Sai glanced around and calmly pointed out to the others, "You know with the open walkways along the top and easy access from upper floors of the surrounding buildings, the layout of this place is perfect for an ambush."

Naruto rubbed his chin and looked around, "You really think so?"

Sakura just rolled her eyes at Sai's thinly veiled hint and started pooling chakra into her fists, but Shino stepped to her side.

"Relax," he murmured into her ear from under his hood then backed away from the medic to a more comfortable distance.

She peered at those dark glasses for a second, not entirely sure whether to heed Sai's insinuation of an impending fight or Shino's assurance that all was well. Shrugging, Sakura decided to trust her mission leader and let the killer chakra dissipate.

"You lookin' for something, stranger," crooned a woman's voice from behind the group. The woman leaned within the shadow of the gate with a glimmer of light accentuating her svelte figure.

Sakura groaned inwardly and knew what was going to come out of the blond shinobi's mouth.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and smirked slyly at the woman hiding in the shadows, "I'm always on the lookin' for a good helping of Time with a side of Sanity, but if you're offering a Touch of Love, I wouldn't say no."

Sakura was poised to slap her teammate upside the head when someone else beat her to it. Shino's hand struck out like lightning and knocked Naruto onto his back. Kiba burst out laughing while Hinata helped Naruto back on his feet.

"Forgive Uzumaki, Fuuma-san," said Shino as the young woman with long dark blond hair and eyebrow-skimming bangs stepped out of the shadows, "He spent a few years in the company of a legendary pervert."

"I know exactly who you're talking about," Sasame smiled at the visitors then her eyes rested on Sakura. Happy squeals filled the air as Sakura ran to hug the Fuuma kunoichi. There was a rush of greetings between the two as the others looked on in amusement.

"Look at you, girl! You look great," said Sasame while lifting Sakura's hands in hers, "It's been so long."

Sakura blew out a long breath, "Ten years, can you believe it?"

The dark blond kunoichi have Sakura a twirl, "You must leave a wake of broken hearts wherever you go, sweetie. We have gotta go out for a night on the town sometime. The things I can show you!"

Kiba cleared his throat to gain the girls' attention and gestured toward them, "So how do you two know each other?"

Sakura pointed to the Fuuma kunoichi, "Pervy Sage brought us out to the Land of Rice back when we were still genin and Sasame tried to kill us."

"And I barely laid a scratch on them," admitted Sasame with a laugh then patted her friend, "But then Sakura was sweet to patch me up."

"She realized we weren't a threat to her and we helped find her cousin," Sakura looked at Sasame, "Arashi, wasn't it?"

"That's right," A sad smile crossed Sasame's face, but she shook it off quickly, "Since you left, we've been trying to get the clan back to it former glory. It's still small, but we're getting by." She lifted a couple fingers to her lips and whistled at the left wall.

"Alright guys," she waved at the two men who appeared at the top of the walls, "You can come down now." The Leaf shinobi watched the two men jump down. One was so large that he towered over all present, but he had grin that was just as big.

Hanzaki slapped a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder in greeting, "Good to see you again, boy! We've been hearing interesting things about you. Looks like you can't seem to keep out of trouble no matter where you go. Jiraiya-sama would have been proud."

"Aw you know me," An embarrassed Naruto rubbed his blond hair then noticed another Fuuma standing back a ways and leaning on the side of the wall, "Hi there, Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure, the next Hokage!"

The stranger crossed his arms and snorted in disbelief, "Yeah right, when pigs fly."

Scratching at his temple, Naruto approached the stranger with a sour attitude and laughed, "Funny you should mention that. Our Godiame had this pig named Tonton..."

The stranger pushed himself off the wall and walked away, leaving Naruto in the lurch and barely acknowledging the other Leaf nin. He gave Shino a short salute and a wink to Sakura, who looked the stranger up and down cautiously.

Shino gave no visible reaction, but Kiba made sure to step between him and Hinata then he bared a fang as the stranger strode on by. Kanpou nodded a farewell at his mortified cousin then left the alley.

Naruto grumbled as he looked over at the two Fuuma standing beside them, "Damn, what's his problem?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Naruto," Sasame and Hanzaki shared a meaningful glance then the kunoichi waved them along, "Come on, we rented a place in town for you guys to crash at and I'll fill you in on the details there." The dark blond led the Leaf shinobi out of the alley and down the bustling street.

It wasn't long before Sasame and Hanzaki brought the six visitors to a somewhat run down apartment building. As they climbed the three flights of stairs, Sasame handed Shino a couple copies of the keys.

"Not like it you'll use them," snickered Sasame and she pulled out her trusty lockpick before jimmying the door open, "Just for the look of things for the landlord. People around here are still uncomfortable with shinobi for obvious reasons." She pushed the door and swept her arm wide.

"Here you go," Sasame stepped aside and let the others walk into the modest two bedroom apartment, "If tonight goes off without a hitch, you'll only be here for today. So be sure to get your showers and catnaps because once Wagarashi finds his prize missing, you'll be heading for Konoha like a bat out of hell."

"Is he that powerful," asked Hinata as they wandered about the apartment.

Sasame shook her head, "He's a dud, but we suspect there's an underling pulling all the strings. Too many of his operations run smoothly for a crime boss who barely pays attention to things beyond women and drink.

"Go ahead and finish the debriefing, Sasame," Hanzaki turned to leave, "I'll let you guys settle in and go pick up some food. Anything you want in particular?"

Five voices shouted back, "ANYTHING BUT RAMEN!"

Naruto threw his pack on the floor next to the furniture and hunched over the couch, "Ah! Does anybody see that thing sticking out from between my shoulders? Yah, I need someone to pull the knife from outta my back."

Ignoring her teammate's moaning, Sakura walked down the short hall to see the two bedrooms and one small bathroom, "I call dibs on the shower!" She picked the bedroom across the bath and tossed all her packs into a corner. Pulling out a robe and towel, Sakura hurried to the shower before it was commandeered by another or more precisely by Naruto or Kiba.

'With those two it's always 'Survival of the fittest' and 'First come, first served,' She turned the shower spigot and waited for the hot water to kick in, 'Which in retrospect, might be the reason why they never held on to any girlfriends for very long.' As she stepped under curtain of water, her thoughts automatically reviewed the past few days that led to her present situation.

Their old sensei, Hatake Kakashi, was now the Hokage. He was originally going to dispatch only Team Eight for extracting the target and once again, Naruto had been sneaking in the air ducts, trying to get info on Sasuke's latest whereabouts.

From Hinata's recount of the incident, Team Eight knew he was listening in, but politely waited for the Hokage to address the issue. Then the Hokage stood up and punched a hand through the ceiling to pull down a red-faced Naruto.

There was begging, pleading, even a few foul words thrown about until Shino interrupted Kakashi and brought up the possibility of an altercation with other Akatsuki. Team Seven's experience in dealing with the elite group of missing nin would be invaluable.

"Better to prepared for the worst, rather than wait for a missive asking for backup." That clinched it and Team Seven was added to the mission with the young Aburame promising Kakashi that he'd keep an close eye on the jinchurriki.

Sakura rubbed the shampoo through her short pink locks until the suds built up, 'Gotta admit, that was very considerate of Shino to stick his neck out and let us tag along on the mission.'

After rinsing the bubbles from her hair, Sakura closed the spigot and wrapped the towel around her slim body. Time had filled her figure out a bit more in the hips, but life as a kunoichi kept her athletic build.

'Which is lucky,' Sakura thought while vigorously rubbing the towel along her calves then slowly over thighs and hips, 'After Shizune-neesan was done packing my bag, I needed every single muscle to make it all the way here.' As the six of them traveled to the Land of Rice Fields, she found it easier to hang out him and Hinata while Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, were so loud and rambunctious with about everything they did.

She appreciated the quiet and calm Shino radiated when she needed to concentrate on reading medical scrolls. Committing medical jutsu to heart is no easy task. A time or two Sakura would feel his eyes watching her behind those mysterious sunglasses and she'd glance up to see him nod at her studious work ethic. Then she would acknowledge him back with a smile. One time she felt a blush creep up and she quickly threw her head down to hide behind a book.

Sakura scowled at herself in the foggy mirror as she tied the robe around her waist, "Please, girl the last thing you need right now is developing a crush on another guy who's emotionally stunted."

Which would bring back the subject of Sai. Even he managed to be an annoying distraction lately. For some reason, the ROOT artist developed an interest in dating and borrowed a book on old fashion courting techniques. Sakura thought it was good that he was expanding his personal experiences to other types of relationships, but it riled her that Sai had no intention of following through with his flirting.

The worst was yesterday during a rest break in a sunny meadow. He leaned in close, with his dark eyes never leaving her green ones, and murmured, "Does this make your heart race and your spine feel tingly?"

Yes, it did but she wasn't going to admit it with both teams witnessing the odd interaction, "Huh, wh-what?"

"Nervousness and loss of proper words," said Sai as he wrote in a small notebook and walked away, leaving behind a very confused subject.

'What a way to make a girl feel like shit... short of hitting said girl in the back of the head and knocking her unconscious,' Sakura winced as she ran a comb through some tangles, 'Damn, forgot the conditioner. That's what you get when packing in a hurry.' She gave up on her hair, picked up the wet towel from the floor, and opened the door.

"Oh," Sakura stopped short of leaving the bathroom and piped,"I'm sorry, Shino. I didn't know you were waiting for me."

The Aburame nin pushed off the wall he was leaning on and lifted the hood from his head, "It's fine as long as there's still hot water." He pushed his sunglasses back along his nose, but for a split second, she caught sight of his dark eyes. For all the years that she had known Shino, Sakura could count on one hand how many times she saw those peepers behind the shades. Not counting the joke he played on his friends at Ichiraku's when Naruto and Kiba wouldn't leave the subject alone. From then on, Sakura learned to be subtle in catching those pensive brown eyes.

"Is it all gone?" Shino's voice broke Sakura from her thoughts.

"There's plenty! Go right ahead. Never been one to hog all the hot water," Sakura flustered nervously in the doorway until Shino gestured toward the bathroom with the arm carrying his towel.

"May I?"

Sakura scurried out of the door, "Of course! Sorry about that. Didn't mean to keep you from getting cleaned up. Not that you stink in any way. Far from it. You smell great for a guy. Really nice... while not quite... clean," Blushing from head to toe underneath her robe, Sakura whispered, "You know what, I'm just gonna go." She covered her face with both hands and rushed into the bedroom across the hall.

If she had bothered to listen through the door, Sakura would have heard Shino low chuckle.

"Cute."


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

The harvest moon hung overhead in the sky above the tiny apartment that Team Seven and Eight embarked from. If there were any stars out, hardly anyone on the street level noticed them at all. Once the sun disappeared below the skyline, Fuuma Alley blinded the average pedestrian with flashing, colorful lights designed to lure even the crankiest hermit out of hiding and try his luck at the tables.

Across the street from the alley, Sasame waited on the street level behind the shadows of the buildings. When the daytime natives closed shop and the customers moved on to the more lively sections of town, she passed through the light of a street lamp and gestured her hand, signaling to the others that the area was clear. As Sai moved closer, Sakura and Naruto hung a block back as secondary team to lend a hand should it be necessary.

Sasame heard the soft hoot of an owl that flew overhead then landed in front of the target building. The owl melted into a pool of ink that slipped into the cracks of the guarded door. Sasame hurried back to the shadows. This time keeping a look out for anyone wandering into the area.

She looked up and around, occasionally catching the glance of the Konoha Leaf nin above. Then she saw the tail end of Shino's coat as he jumped across the street to the target building.

On the roof to the left, Hinata crouched on the roof with Kiba and Akamaru, who kept a look out as she focused her kekkei genkai to search the building. She hit the button on her radio and her naturally soft voice relayed the information to Sai.

"I see our target," Hinata focused further around the tied up kunoichi, "She's in the northeastern corner, three levels down from the roof and two floors up from street level. There's at least two guards sitting at the end of every hall and they're currently distracted by their television shows. One broke off from his post and is heading for the roof."

Hinata followed her team leader as he looked for someplace to hide. There was a make shift tool shed in the corner diagonal to his position.

"Watch it, Shino. He's at the door."

The door swung open and light flooded the roof as Shino flickered out of sight then appeared behind the small shed. A man stepped out the exit and took in a deep breath of air.

"Ah, much better. There's hardly any ventilation inside," The guard stretched his back while twisting from side to side, "Not to mention a whole lot quieter." The guard was about to go back inside when he heard a tiny snap coming from the shed. Squinting his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he pulled out his sword and stepped onto the roof.

"He's coming up on your right," whispered Hinata.

Shino pressed his back closer to the shed and slid around the corner just as the guard popped his head to check. The guard scratched the back of his head then shrugged.

"Oh nevermind. I better go back inside before Daichi-sama starts screaming for my head ," He softly walked backwards in case something decided to come up from behind him. He was right. Something was moving in the darkness.

The guard turned around only to be engulfed by a swarm of insects then everything went black.

As the beetles crawled off the unconscious man, Shino directed them into the building then hit the radio "The kikaichu are on the move. Get your clone going, Sai."

The pool of ink that had been sloughing along the floor, rose up and created a carbon copy of the ROOT nin. The first set of guards jumped up from their chairs when they saw the intruder and drew their swords. One swipe of the clone's brush across a scroll sent two roaring ink panthers running after the guards.

Before they could hit the alarm, the ink animals pounced on top of them then melted, wrapping the men with binds made of ink.

With Shino and his destruction beetles working their way down from the roof and the clone going up the stairs, their infiltration lasted less than five minutes and Sai's copy reached the room where the kunoichi was being held.

It reached one hand to the doorknob then noticed an odd trip wire of chakra crossing the corner of the door. Should it open the door it might set of another set of alarms. The clone back up and was about to become liquid again then slide into when the door burst open and a chakra enhanced kunai flew right through it. Bells rang around Shino as he came across the equally surprised clone then it permanently melted away.

The lights flooded the area from every roof adjacent to the target building and a siren brought men pouring out of every nook and cranny, looking for the intruders who dared to trespass on Wagarashi property.

"Get out," commanded Shino's voice through the radio, "All of you spread out, make sure you're not followed then meet back at the apartment."

Hours later, Sai dropped on the landing outside the apartment then climbed inside the window. The others sipped hot tea as they waited and re-played the events in their heads.

"That was a fool proof plan," Naruto looked at his teammate in confusion, "What the hell happened to your clone?"

"It was attacked," said Sai plainly.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses and grumbled, "That we got, Sai. What happened before that?"

"Of that I am uncertain," Sai look towards Team Eight, "Perhaps, Hinata-san knows."

Hinata sat at the kitchen table next to Sakura and looked be in a mild state of shock herself, "The target took out the clone. She did it herself. If she saw the Leaf forehead protector, I can understand her hesitance to let your clone take her. What has me confused is that before Sai's clone opened the door, she easily broke the bonds holding her then dispatched the clone."

"Did you see what happened next," asked Sakura as picked up the tea kettle and poured some more tea into Hinata's cup.

Hinata nodded, "She sat back down again, only to get tied up by the first guard to wake up."

"What a strange girl," murmured Sai with a slight look wonderment in his eyes.

Naruto threw himself on the couch and shouted in frustration, "No shit! Now what are we going to do?"

"They're gone," Sasame had been leaning on the far wall and thinking ahead, when she spoke up for the first time that night, "The very first thing they would do is move her. Now we're stuck having to find her all over again."

"We can find her," Shino said with confidence as he nodded to Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru, "Between the four of us, we'll figure out where their holding her within the day."

"Yeah, but getting to her will be twice as hard if not more," reminded Sakura as she put her cup of tea down,"This time they know we're coming and that we're not Akatsuki because Karin didn't like who came knocking on the door."

Naruto sat up and pounded his fist into an open palm, "I say we break down some doors, bust their heads open, and drag the girl back to Konoha!"

Kiba smacked the blond upside the head, "Dude, have you no finesse!" Then he curled his arms like a monkey and hooted in Naruto's face, "Oogah, oogah!"

"Besides it won't work, Naruto," Sakura stood up from her chair and paced around the room, "All she has to do is tell them we're close and they move her to a new location."

"Whatever you guys decide, it needs to be done soon," said Sasame, "There's gonna be an auction. Wagarashi plans on seller her and all the information she carries to the highest bidder. The only thing slowing them down is getting confirmation of those coming to bid."

Shino walked out to the window and thought aloud, "An auction. That means every petty thief, goon, and anyone with one hand in organized crime will be circling information on how to get in on this auction."

Kiba recognized that his teammate was on to something, "What are you thinking, Shino?"

"I'm thinking, why bother chasing them if we know where they're going to end up. We're going to be at that auction."

Sakura nodded in admiration, "Instead of playing a crazy game of hide and seek, we can jump ahead and let them come to us."

Hinata whispered, "W-what if Akatsuki show up?"

"That's why we're here," said Naruto as he hopped up from the couch and flashed a confident grin, "Team Seven will buy you guys enough time to do your stuff!"

As the others laughed at the blond's exuberance, Sakura slowly backed into the hallway and whispered softly to herself, "Maybe this time we'll bring Sasuke home." She didn't realize that a pair of eyes were carefully watching her behind dark glasses.

--------------

Deep in the woods, three missing nin convened on the border to the Waterfall country as per the original plan of their leader, Uchiha Sasuke. Three showed up, not four.

"Let me backtrack and see if I have this straight," To keep his temper under control, Sasuke stared past Hoozuki Suigetsu as the former Mist nin silently squirmed in front of him, "An hour after we split up to lose the Suna nin on our trails, you simply lost track of her."

The guy hunched up and scratched his stark white hair in embarrassment, "Yah, you could say that."

"And you didn't go looking for Karin after several hours."

Suigetsu switched his huge sword to the other hand then ran shaking fingers through his hair, "Well, my ears desperately needed a break. Her voice makes scratching a chalkboard sound sexy. My nerves were shot, man!"

Sitting with his back to a tree trunk, Juugo chuckled and released the song birds resting on his fingers, "Don't you two ever quit fighting."

Suigetsu chuckled, "If we're awake, we fight. Why mess with the formula?"

Sasuke slapped the Suigetsu on the head to get his attention again, "You ditched her when we had enemies on our tail and now that we were back at our meeting point, she's not here like you thought she would be."

"Hey, Karin's a tough cookie! She was a jailer in charge of killers for kami's sake. Girl, should've been able to handle herself fine. Any ninja in the Land of Rice are complete wussies."

"Unless there were other foreign nin passing through," mumbled Juugo, "Much stronger and out numbering her." There was a few moments of tense silence with Suigetsu at the dangerous center of attention.

He tried to diffuse the situation with a shrug and a half-hearted, "Oops?"

Sasuke grabbed Suigetsu by the shirt and growled, "Three days." The water ninja shifted nervously under the gaze of his leader as the dark eyes slowly changed to red.

The Uchiha nin pulled the other closer, "Three whole days that our medic has been missing and all you can manage to do is shrug?"

A smirk curled along Suigetsu's spiky teeth, "I can also do a fancy jig, but I gotta feeling it wouldn't be appreciated."

Juugo snorted, "You are so dead, Suigetsu."

Before Sasuke could make another move, the guy melted out of Sasuke's grip then reappeared as normal as can be, "Who me, dead," The water nin held his sword out as if to challenge his leader, "You'd have to do a hell of a lot to accomplish that. Besides how do you know Karin isn't dead?"

"Because she's worth more alive than dead," answered Juugo, "That is all of us, except Sasuke."

The Mist nin sighed then threw a friendly arm around Sasuke's shoulders, "Come on! We don't really need her, man. If you want another medic, we can just head into the next town. We hang out by a hospital. You do that sassy, boy toy flip of your hair, then bada-bing bada-boom, we got ourselves a new medic."

Then Suigetsu held up his hands in a begging fashion, "Hopefully this time one with less compulsion to kick my head in on a regular basis."

Sasuke pushed the guy off, "You know very well why we have to find her. And if that isn't enough of a reason for you, Suigetsu, then a side trip to my Tsukiyomi would give you proper motivation."

"Whoah hey," Suigetsu backed away and tried to focus his eyes anywhere that didn't involve a Uchiha, "No need to get snippy. You want motivation? We got plenty to spare. We just have to think about the problem logically and come to a solution. Now what place is worth dragging Karin to within a three day radius?"

Sasuke frowned at Suigetsu's redirection of the conversation, but he took the bait, "They would have to carry her. She would fight the entire time so they would have to sedate her somehow."

"Exactly," encouraged Suigetsu.

"Dealing with a hostage would slow them down considerably and with that time frame that pretty much rules out all the hidden villages," Juugo drew out a rough map on the ground and the other two gathered next to him, "Leaving the civilian cities."

Sasuke perused the dirt map and mentally added any towns or hideouts that Juugo missed drawing in. He pointed down to a spot nearby the Fire border, "There, Fuuma Alley. That's where we're going first."

Suigetsu looked between Sasuke and the map, "There? Why that dinky little tourist trap?"

Leaving the other two to scramble after him, Sasuke kept walking in the direction of his old stomping grounds, "It was years since I was there last, but there was a reason why Orochimaru built a base there. That tourist trap is the perfect place to unload illegal goods and turn in bounties without being noticed."

"Yeah well, how are we supposed to get in there without being noticed, " Suigetsu brandished the sword that once belonged to the legendary Zabuza and gestured to the distinct Akatsuki cloaks, "We tend to stand out."

Sasuke jumped into the trees and set the pace for the others, "We'll ditch the cloaks and pick up some new gear at the base. Juugo send some animals ahead to Fuuma Alley and have them search for any trace of Karin."

The giant grunted his acknowledgment then stopped long enough to summon his birds.

Suigetsu landed next to his teammate, "She's fine! I bet she's chillin' out in some hotel ordering room service, waiting for us to pick her up."

Juugo glanced at Suigetsu and murmured, "I'll take that bet."

The Mist nin blinked his purple eyes, "You what?"

"I'll take that bet, but we'll never find out the winner if we don't get there," and Juugo took off through the trees.

"HEY," Suigetsu shouted as he hurried to catch up, "W-what are we betting here?! Better not be my sword. Answer me!"

------------------

Wagarashi Kyuuroku was out of bed at the crack of noon and was in the middle of getting over a massive hangover with a good cigar and hair of dog when his personal assistant came waltzing into his apartment.

"Good morning, Wagarashi-sama," As usual, Daichi handed Kyuuroku the morning newspaper and a stack of folders, "I brought in contracts and receipts that need to be read then signed. Official and unofficial invitations for the auction have been sent out. We're still searching for an appropriate site for the event and there was an attempt last night to take our prisoner."

Daichi held up one hand to calm his superior, "Relax they didn't get her and we moved her to another location. On an even better note, the professionals I sent for a few days ago have arrived."

Wagarashi Kyuuroku rested back in his chair and went back to lighting his cigar, "Ah, that's good and who did you hire?" The personal assistant walked to the wall of televisions in the room and switched on to the surveillance feed where three men appeared on screen.

The boss spat out his cigar so hard it hit the wall, "More shinobi?!"

"Honestly, sir," sighed Daichi and he picked up the fallen the cigar then helped his boss re-light it, "You need to get over this odd phobia with ninja. As long as we pay them, they are honor bound to follow through on the assignment until the end."

Kyuuroku scoffed as he remembered his last dealings with shinobi, "Uh huh, and how do you know that?"

"Personal experience, sir. If you'll excuse me, I need to debrief our new guards on the situation," Daichi bowed respectfully to the boss then went out the door. He walked down the stairs to where the team of shinobi stood. They turned around to observe the assistant with disdain.

Daichi noted the Mist symbols prominently displayed on their hitai ate and smiled, "Welcome, Kiragakure shinobi. My boss and I are extremely pleased that you accepted our request."

"Considering how much money you're throwing around," said the captain as he stepped forward, revealing a patch over his right eye, "You couldn't help but catch our kage's attention. The name's Ao and this is my team Yuudachi and Meizu." The other two nodded in acknowledgment as their names were spoken.

"My employer is quite wary of hiring shinobi for guarding our precious item before it goes to auction. We need you to keep the item safe from thieves who have already attempted to stealing it. All you have to do is guard the building and keep out unauthorized personnel."

"Sounds simple enough, but I'd like to get a look at what we're supposed to be guarding before there anything is official," Ao raised his hand to activate the byakugan eye hidden underneath the patch.

Daichi paled when he realized that the Mist jounin had the ability to find what was going to auction wasn't an 'It', but a 'Her'. The man doubted any shinobi would want getting involved with slave trade.

Ao put his hands down and turned to a sweating Daichi, "We'll do it and we'll do it for free." The personal assistant and others gaped at the man in surprise.

The Mist jounin went down the halls and around corners. He walked right past the regular guards, who were calmed by Daichi. After kicking the door open, the man strode into the room, leaned forward and loosened the cloth tied around the kunoichi's mouth.

The redheaded woman stretched her jaw then glared hatefully, "You again! I could feel your disgusting chakra when you hit town."

Ao gave the kunoichi a grin and saluted, "Aw, it's nice to be remembered."

The bound kunoichi took a long enough break from her scowling to get a look at the other visitors, "You filthy pigs. Where did you get that piece of shit for cloth? It tastes like stinky feet. You don't gag people with stuff pulled off of someone's foot. It's unsanitary!"

The green haired nin named Yuudachi whispered to their leader, "Is that who I think it is?"

She laughed openly at the younger team members' surprised expressions, "When my Sasuke-kun gets here, every single one of you are going to get the ass kicking of your lives," then an evil smile crossed her lips, "That is, if you punks live through it. Of course, there are fates worse than death- OOMPH!"

The Mist jounin pulled his hand back from stuffing the dirty sock back in Karin's mouth, "That's better. Nothing more annoying than a mouthy hostage that spits out tired cliches. "

Daichi walked up to Ao and shrugged, "Since you're in on the secret, I'm sure you realize what kind of situation this is and who we have."

"Karin," stated Meizu as he stepped up for a closer look and reached out to finger the feathered locks of bright red hair, "Former jailer for the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. A medic and sensor ninja." Her red eyes followed him as he walked around the chair.

"Tyrannical, but cunning, short tempered as she is short-sighted, and covered," He lifted up a section of her cloak and slightly opened the bottom of Karin's top to reveal her abdomen, "In bite marks. Last seen in the company of Akatsuki four man team nicknamed Taka and led by one Uchiha Sasuke, who has been declared Kill On Sight by Five Kages. Long story short, she's one mean bitch."

The hostage's muffled curses filled the room, but she was cut short when Ao knelt down and looked deep into her red eyes, "Yeah, we know exactly what you got here and we couldn't be more pleased. If Sasuke-kun is even one tenth attached to the girl like she thinks he is..."

Karin let out a vicious growl through her sock.

"Then he'll be coming for her and we'll be waiting."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

AN: Was told this was sorta chick-lit/borderline feminist kinda chap. Didn't realize it was working out that way, but I did have fun writing it. So any guys who might not like that kind of stuff, here's your warning.

Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter Three**

It was mid-morning when Ao and his chuunin walked through the front doors to the penthouse suite at the top floor of an expensive hotel. There were guards posted at every corner of the hotel on the way up and at the elevator door. Ao sneered as he and his team strode past the fidgety laymen, who were probably picked off the street and handed a knife.

When Wagarashi Kyuuroku noticed the shinobi waiting in the wings, he whispered harshly at his personal assistant. Daichi woke up from his folders then snapped at the Mist nin as if summoning a waitress then hurried to their sides.

"Good morning, gentlemen. My apologies for pulling you away from you duties, but we're in the middle of making a lot of changes about our hostage. I figured it would just be easier for you to be here, instead of relaying another message. I trust you accommodations were comfortable," The personal assistant fussed about the group in an attempt to make polite small talk while smoothly re-directed them to a shady corner at the far side of the room, away from his nervous employer.

The jounin shrugged, "It was more than what we needed so we traded the room for something more utilitarian. I hope you don't mind that we moved." Ao noted how Daichi became worried for a split second then returned to an over-friendly demeanor.

"Not in the least bit. Always better for the bottom line, I suppose. Wagarashi's private chef is in the kitchen over there. If you need some breakfast, she'll whip something up for you. Pardon me, I have to get back to work."

Watching the personal assistant bustle back to his master, Yuudachi sneered maliciously at the goons bumbling along the hall and outside the building, "What a bunch of hokey civies. I counted five openings that led right into their precious Kyuuroku-sama's apartment. Honestly why are we wasting our time here, sir. This place, these people make me sick to my stomach." The guy gagged slightly from another passing cloud of smoke and ducked his head out the window for some fresh air.

Meizu fingered the kunai hidden under cloak and sighed, "I agree with Yuudachi. We should just get the hell outta here and find Taka ourselves. Karin isn't going anywhere. Who needs these rank amatures anyways?"

Ao sniffed in agreement as his hidden eye zipped from one section of the building to the next, "Believe me, I'm dying to see some heads roll too, but we are under orders by the Mizukage to figure out what the hell is going on. Let's just ride this assignment out and it'll be another pretty feather in our caps. And you're wrong about Karin, Meizu."

His subordinates blinked at the correction.

"She's good enough to escape those old fashion bonds," explained Ao, "I gather from Daichi's urgency in hiring real ninja that she already attempted. As long as she knows we're here, Karin won't waste energy on trying to escape."

"Oh and by the way, Yuudachi. There's eight openings to the apartment. I found three hidden tunnels inside the basement. My guess is that Wagarashi-sama likes to cut and run when things get too hot."

One of the two goons playing pool paused during his turn and waved his cue, "Uh boss, with all those big wigs heading into town, someone important is gonna notice about the auction. Then we got police sticking their noses where it don't belong."

Kyuuroku smoothly blew a smoke ring in the air and laughed, "We'll just do the same thing we have something big goin' down. Throw a big bash and use all the freeloaders to hide the exchange."

"This is more than passing off a bag of hot diamonds, sir. If the honored guests are to make bids, that takes time and energy to find a secure location within the location. Ordinary people will notice irregularities and make reports."

An evil grin grew on the boss' face as he wagged a finger, "Not if they're occupied with more exciting activities to watch. Hypnotizing entertainment that they can't take their eyes off it for a second."

Daichi blinked behind his specs and asked, "So what are you suggesting?"

"Why not set up a massive tournament with the works," announced Kyuuroku, "Poker, pool, and whatever else that gets these people squeezing into one place. Gambling is the lifeblood of this town, is it not?"

"But isn't poker illegal here," interrupted one of the Kira chuunin from the far side of the room. There was a moment of silence as all eyes turned on the green haired nin.

Yuudachi snorted and leaned back into the wall, "Right, silly me forgot which side we're on. Forget I said anything."

"This is brilliant, Wagarashi-sama," gushed Daichi, "People will look the other way or even better take it upon themselves to make sure others don't squeal and ruin the fun."

Ao smiled as he watched the criminal mind at work and made a mental note for future reference, "Interesting smokescreen, hiding the major illegal activity inside the harmless one."

Daichi scooped up his papers and strode for the door, "Don't worry about a thing, sir. I know just whose palms to grease and which people to pass the word around. The authorities will leave the tournament alone."

Then the assistant motioned for the Mist shinobi to follow him, "Seeing that Karin is behaving for the moment, Ao-san. I have a task for you and your team."

Just on the outskirts of the city limits, Kiba stood guard in front of Hinata as she used her byakugan, "Have you found her yet, Hinata?" Earlier that day, Kiba and Akamaru were able to find which building Karin had been moved to while Shino sent scout beetles to decipher the security detail. The information relayed that a professional shinobi team had been hired and they set up a more sophisticated system.

The kunoichi narrowed her eyes as she systematically zoomed from one room to the next, "One more level to search. Yes, there she is." She watched the tied up medic turn her head and glare in their direction. Then Karin lifted her fist as far as it was allowed to reach then pointed her middle finger in the air.

"And it's safe to assume she knows we're here," muttered Hinata.

Hiding further inside the alley shadows, Shino opened up his hand for a couple kikai returning from the other side of the city, "The new guards have left the penthouse and may be heading back here. We need to leave before they get here." He pushed himself off the wall and led his team out between the buildings.

After casually winding their way through the streets of Fuuma Alley, Team Eight soon rounded the corner that led to the apartment where the others waited.

"Good afternoon, Aburame-san," said a voice from behind them and Sasame Fuuma walked along the group from the side, a suitcase in each hand, "How did everything go?"

Shino kept walking as he filled her in on the details, "As we suspected, finding Karin was easy. Getting to her has become harder. We're now facing other shinobi. From my kikai's report, the hitai ate indicate Mist."

As the group climbed the staircase, Kiba pointed to the closest case, "What's all that?"

Sasame laughed and winked at Hinata, "It's a surprise for the girls, but you don't get to see until we're upstairs. So get movin'!"

Dragging Hinata along with her, Sasame bounded into the apartment, dropped the cases in the middle of the living room and motioned for Sakura to join, "Okay, girls! We need to do reconnaissance tonight. There's a buzz of something big going down and we need to get in on it. Don't worry about shopping. I brought some stuff for you to use. So dig in!"

Naruto sat up from the couch and looked over Sasame's shoulder, "Great, what should I wear?"

The Fuuma kunoichi winced and opened the second suitcase for Sakura, "Uh, sorry Naruto. We're gonna be investigating some rumors in bars and it would be easier without you guys scaring away the marks. So females only."

"Is that all? No problem there," Naruto smirked as he raised his hands up, "Sexy No Jutsu!" Sakura's fist pounding Naruto's skull into the floor stopped the jutsu before he could transform.

Watching Sakura throw an unconscious Naruto onto the couch, Sasame leaned down and whispered to Hinata, "Did I want to know what was going to happen?"

Hinata shook her head, "N-not really. Oh, this is a nice one." She held up a ice-blue mini-dress with a mandarin collar.

"Can I see?" Sakura nodded as Hinata held up the brocade dress for her to see, "That is nice. Got anything good in there for me, Sasame?"

"Hmmm, let's see," the kunoichi pulled out a bright green strapless and held up to Sakura's pale skin, "That works, don't you think?"

Sakura scrunched up her nose and put it back in the case, "It's a little too colorful for my tastes. Got anything a bit more darker? What about black? You can never go wrong in little black dress."

"Sure, if you're turning emo," said Sasame with a shrug, "But if dark is what you want, here's a wrap dress in navy."

The pink kunoichi held up the dress and pressed the length down to her knee, "It's a bit short, but it'll do."

"Thank you so much for letting us use these beautiful dresses, Fuuma-san," said Hinata with a bow, "This is so generous of you."

Sasame laughed as she dug through more outfits, "Oh it's no big deal. I swiped them from my cousin's closet. Girl's got so much junk, she'll never notice."

Leaning into the doorway from the kitchen, Kiba watched the three kunoichi fuss over each other's choices in clothing and jewelry. As Hinata lifted the mini-dress to her body, he imagined the silky brocade clinging to her curves and her long, dark hair flowing down her back and contrasting nicely with the shimmering pale fabric.

He shook the enticing image from his head and returned to business, "So what's this rumor you girls are supposed to be checking out?"

Sasame stepped out from between the girls and reported, "Word is there's going to be combined poker and pool tournament with huge pots and get this, it's being organized by our friend Wagarashi around the date of the auction."

Kiba nodded as he rubbed Akamaru on the head and sneered, "Setting up a smokescreen, huh?"

"All the better for us," said Shino, "If there's one thing that Team Eight can do, it's infiltration."

Sasame gave the guys a thumbs up and went back to the suitcases, "Great! Leave it to us kunoichi to find out where it's being held and get inside. Ooh, I call dibs on the glitter hooker heels!"

Naruto pouted on the couch and grumbled, "So what about us then?"

Sai walked between Kiba and Shino, placed a friendly hand each one's shoulders, "We don't need to tag after scantily clad women, hopping from bar to bar, and resulting in extensive inebriation to have an enjoyable bonding experience."

When the other two looked at Naruto, the blond guy slowly backed away, "Don't look at me for an explanation. I swear the dude's gay."

"I'm not gay," Sai replied nonchalantly then he hugged Shino and Kiba, "But would it help if I said I was?"

"NO!" shouted Shino and Kiba as they quickly ducked from under Sai's arms then escaped out the front door.

As soon as the sun sank behind the horizon, the three kunoichi emerged from the apartment all glittered, glitz, and ready to blitz the party scene.

Standing right outside the first bar, Sasame pulled the other two kunoichi into a huddle, "Okay, if everyone's ready, let's review our signals," She pointed at the Hyuuga girl, "What's it mean if you tug on the earlobe?"

"A d-dead end," answered Hinata, "Move to the next mark."

"Tucking a lock of hair behind an ear?"

Sakura lifted a triumphant fist, "Jackpot! Found the information we need."

"And of course the most important of all, flashing the bras strap," Sasame waited as the girls hemmed and hawed.

Sakura scratched one temple in confusion, "Uh, I don't specifically remember that one."

"Me either," squeaked Hinata.

Sasame sighed in frustration and repeatedly slapped the back of her hand in the other's palm, "It means that I found a hottie and that you girls need to bugger off and find your own."

"Not that I would mind a hot guy," grumbled Sakura as she pushed the heavy bar doors open, "But Hinata doesn't need to find one. She's already got her own hottie."

"Really?" Sasame glanced at the Hyuuga, who hung her head low and blushed.

Sakura nodded while they walked through the darkened corridor, "Hinata has been dating Naruto going on three years now. Isn't that something?"

Sasame's cocky smile fell and she gulped, "Is that so?"

"Not always of course," Sakura looked around the bar room casually, "Naruto did his stint of 'Sowing His Oats' with a few girls before seriously dating our Hinata-chan."

"Ah," Sasame managed to say despite feeling like she'd been hit with a twenty ton hammer.

Not noticing the change in Sasame's and Hinata's demeanors, Sakura happily chatted away and sat on a barstool between the other two, "Best to get it out of his system, I say. Just so he realizes what a good thing he has going with you. Don't let him take you for granted, Hinata."

The Hyuuga girl looked away and nervously tapped her fingertips together, "Alright, S-Sakura-chan."

"A round of sake for me and my girls," shouted Sasame with a hand slamming on the bar then leaned in closer to the bartender, "And keep mine coming."

Not long after the girls left for downtown, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru walked through the door with food and movies in hand, "We have tonight's entertainment."

Naruto pulled in next to Shino and looked through the selection of videos, "Rumble In The Bronx, First Strike, The Legend of Drunken Master, and Drunken Master Two. Not bad."

"Oooohwaaaah, you must respect the eight drunken gods." Naruto lunged erratically and grabbed a kitchen towel. He twisted it, stretched the wet cloth tight, and snapped the tail end of Akamaru.

"Yipe!"

"OI! No terrorizing the dog or I terrorize you," yelled Kiba as he walked inside the kitchen then held up a cooler filled with beer cans and ice, "And here are our refreshments. No Jackie Chan movie is complete without some alcohol to enhance the thin plot and add a fun blur to the special effects."

"We can't drink," said a shocked Sai, "We're in the middle of a mission. There could be a dangerous gangster and his thugs out there searching for us. We could be ambushed during the night or the girls might need our help."

Kiba rolled his eyes and dumped the cooler next to the couch, "Relax, we won't get blind stinking drunk. Just lightly buzzed."

Shino paused in taking a drink from his can and glared at Kiba behind his sunglasses.

Kiba sighed and apologized, "Correction, lightly inebriated and we'll have Akamaru to be on the look out for us. Right, boy! Dogs don't drink, remember."

Naruto grinned brightly and plopped himself down in the middle of the couch, "Alright then! Pass that can of beer over here, my good man, then put in the movie!"

"I believe that's enough conquering of hearts in here," whispered Sasame as she linked arms between Hinata and Sakura, "Let's move on to the bar across the street. The food is better over there and might draw in the fat cats who'll be interested in the tournament. "

Sakura giggled as she waved good bye to the love-struck fellows left behind in the lounge, "This is fun! But I feel bad leaving the guys at home when we're out having a good time."

As they walked into the open street, Hinata agreed with the pink kunoichi, "M-maybe we should have invited them to come along with us."

Sasame threw an arm around each of the girls' shoulders and pushed them forward into the fourth bar, "Relax, girls. We're on a mission and there's no need to feel guilty. I'm sure the guys are enjoying their own Boys' Night without us cramping their style."

In the apartment, three sets of eyes were glazed over as they watched the movie hero panicked in the aquarium's shark tank and fought with a villain over scuba gear.

Reaching over the couch arm for a new beer, Kiba leaned slightly to one side with a grunt then mumbled, "It was Akamaru."

Shino winced with disgust and got up for the kitchen while Naruto and Sai, who didn't have heightened senses of smell, looked around in confusion.

"Whatcha' blaming the dog for," Naruto asked.

Kiba grinned and popped the top to his beer,"If you don't smell it, then I'm not saying it."

Inside a different dance club, Sasame trailed a fingertip along the stubble of one fellow's chin and cooed in his ear, "Wow, you sure do know a lot of big people! So would a well connected guy like you know where three young ladies could get some work around here?"

The guy's eyes lit up and he quickly patted himself down for his wallet. Sakura and Hinata gasped in horror as he started counting out the bills on the table, leering hungrily at each of them.

Realizing what she actually said, Sasame rubbed one temple and groaned, "No, I didn't mean that. What I meant to say is that we're interested in jobs for 'Respectable ladies'."

He paused in confusion then reluctantly counted out more bills on the table, "Just tell me when to stop."

Sakura was about to power drive the pervert into the floor when Hinata's hand zipped out like lightening and the man fell over unconscious, "Th-that was close. If Neji-niisan heard that, the guy would be dead in two seconds flat."

"Bah, that one was also a bust," Sasame got up from the table with the other two following her, "And I was so sure about him too."

As they walked by a booth, a new voice barked, "It's a safe bet that I'm gonna win that poker tournament. I'm already signed up. From what I saw, I'm practically the best player on the list." All three spun on their heels in unison and headed back to the booth.

"Good evening, mind if we join you," With smiles gracing their lips, the kunoichi wheedled their way next to the two fellows talking about the tournaments.

Sasame scooted into the seat where the guy who spoke up sat, "Couldn't help, but overhear something about a cool tournament? Sounds like loads of fun."

Slipping next to the other mark, Sakura looked up at the surprised man with wide green eyes, "We're looking for some temporary employment. Do you think that they're looking for experienced waitresses and hostesses for the event?"

"Oh, I'm sure they would," With a bold sneer, he picked up a few strands of her pink hair and sniffed it, "Beautiful applicants like yourselves would be snapped up in an instant." Then he turned and wrapped an arm around Hinata as she giggled softly while fluttering her dark lashes.

Sasame's mark took another long drink of the sake she poured for him, "There's actually three sign up points in town and each one has two lists. One for poker and the other for pool. Are you any good at either game?"

The Fuuma kunoichi giggled and tapped him on the chin, "I might dabble a bit in each. I'm not that great really, but it would be fun just to try."

The man smiled, "If that's the case, then you're gonna need to memorize the pass phrase just to sign in."

"What are you doing," whispered his more cautious friend.

The man shrugged, "What? Like a little girl is any competition. The pass phrase is..." He leaned to Sasame's ear so he could get in closer and nibble her ear while whispering the phrase.

"Why don't we all head back to our hotel room and take this conversation to a more vertical direction," The guy wiggled his eyebrows at Sakura.

"I couldn't agree more," squealed Sakura and she landed a right hook on the mark as Sasame punched the other pervert.

After they paid off the bartender for the extra mess, the three kunoichi strode happily out of the club with Sakura exclaiming, "Success! Now we can head back and tell Shino the info."

Sasame grabbed them by the arms and dragged them in the opposite direction, "What's the hurry? The night is still young and we don't need to go home yet."

"But the mission," insisted Hinata.

Sasame wagged a nagging finger at the Hyuuga, "All work and no play, makes Hina a dull girl."

"Oh-okay, I guess the boys don't need us right away," and she hesitantly followed the two down the street to a new bar.

At a corner tavern with absolutely no guys around except the bartender, the girls relaxed in the blissfully quiet and dark bar.

Knocking back another cup of sake, Sakura turned to her Hyuuga friend and slapped her on the back, "You haven't said much of anything at all tonight, Hina-chan. Spill! How are the most famous love birds of Konoha doing?"

"Aaaah," Hinata hiccuped as she put down her mai-tai and looked like a caged bird desperate to escape the other kunoichi, "G-g-good. I s-s-suppose."

"Good, you suppose," Sakura tilted her head in curiosity, "You know your stutter gets worse when you lie. Oh, you poor thing. Is Naruto acting like an asshole to you again? Don't worry we'll fix him for you."

"NO! NO!" With stutter suddenly gone, Hinata grabbed Sakura and Sasame by the shoulders then sat them back down, "It's not what you think. You see... Whifflemumblewheeze."

"Sorry, Hinata. I didn't quite hear you," Sasame dipped her head as low as the Hyuuga girl, "Try again."

"We didn't quite mifflewafflebum."

Sakura moaned and lifted Hinata's chin with both hands, "Could you at least face us so we could _read_ your lips. We can read your lips and then no one else has to find out."

With white eyes bulging, the Hyuuga kunoichi felt a rising blush turning her from pink to strawberry red. She eventually managed to wiggle her lips between the vice that was Sakura's palms.

"Vee."

"We," translated Sakura.

"I-int."

"Didn't."

"Vak-aht."

"Work out," The words took a moment to sink in, but when they did Sakura cried out in absolute shock and released Hinata, who had been using the other girl for support, thus ended up smacking her face down on the bar.

Sasame put down her drink, pulled Hinata back by the collar, and sat the girl properly in her chair, "For real? You guys broke up?"

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "When?"

"Six months after we, uh... you know," Hinata drank down another shot to block out the memories.

"Know what," Sakura stared at Hinata until her brain clicked, "Oh you mean having sex! But that was years ago, at least that's what Ino told me. When were you two going to tell everybody else?"

Hinata let out a deep sigh of relief. The tale was horribly embarrassing, but it felt good to finally tell someone, "It was a mutual decision and we were going to break the news. But then I saw how my father and all the older people treated Naruto like a hero, not like a monster. If word got out that we broke up, all that could change. I offered the idea that we would pretend to be together until one of us, namely me, finds someone else. He agreed, but kinda reluctantly."

Sympathizing with the Hyuuga girl, Sakura pouted and ran a hand along her friend's long hair, "Hinata-chan, that was two years ago."

Hinata winced, "T-true, but we've been really busy. Mission after mission, the rebuilding of Konoha. You of all people should understand that."

"Yeah, you're right," admitted Sakura, "I don't think he's had anytime to do much else. Hell, I know for sure that Naruto hasn't found anyone. When he wasn't 'Dating' you at home, he concentrated on our missions."

"So uh," Sasame rolled her cup between her hand as she prodded for more information, "Hinata, have you found someone else? Anyone particular you have in mind perhaps?"

Hinata blushed an even red brighter than she already was, "Well- ah there was one other person who worked really hard to help me get to the level I am today. Someone on my team who was cheering me on since we were g-genin."

For some odd reason, Sakura felt her stomach drop, 'A supportive teammate since they were genin?'

Sasame poked her friend in the shoulder, "Who? Who?"

Hinata smiled softly, dipped a fingertip in a puddle of spilled beer, and traced her crush's name on the bar surface, "K-Kiba-kun."

Sakura closed her eyes and blew a sigh of relief, "That is so sweet, Hinata-chan and here I was thinking you were going to say 'Shino'." The words were out her mouth before she could stop them.

Hinata peered at Sakura thoughtfully and asked, "N-not that there's anything wrong with Shino-san, but why would you worry about me dating him?"

"No reason," exclaimed Sakura and waved her cup around, "Absolutely no reason that you wouldn't be interested in Shino. It's just that the guy has very commendable traits. He's a respected member of Konoha, a born leader who keeps a cool head, and despite being a scary shinobi to face in battle, I've seen him be incredibly gentle with small creatures. Stuff like that catches a girl's eye. That's all."

Then she sighed forlornly and her green eyes glazed into daydream, "You know, he's got that voice, the kind that melts you from the inside, like sweet chocolate sliding down the spine and leaving a warm shiver in it's wake."

Sasame snickered at Sakura's drunken musings then raised her cup in cheers, "Hmmm, that's some voice. Someone bottle that for me."

Hinata was surprised to hear a girl go on about her teammate like that and immediately asked, "What about the k-kikaichu?"

Sakura shrugged, "What about 'em?"

"Do they bother you?"

"No! Do they bother you?"

Hinata lifted her head high and stared back at Sakura, "Of course not! I'm his teammate."

Sasame burst into laughter, nearly dropping her drink, and she pointed to the Leaf kunoichi, "Listen to yourselves! You're fighting over a guy, neither one of you have the cojones to date."

"I don't want to date Shino," insisted Hinata as she nodded her thanks to the bartender, who refilled their sake. "I think of him more as a brother than a boyfriend. I guess I'm a little protective of him, that's all. He may be stand-offish at times, but he can also be a little sensitive. I don't want him getting hurt."

"I don't want to date Shino either," mimicked Sakura and laid one hand over her heart, "My heart belongs to Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke will forever be the man for me and I will do whatever it takes to bring Sasuke-kun home or I'll die trying." And she thumped her cup on the bar for emphasis.

Sasame clucked her tongue and shook her head in pity. She leaned behind Sakura's back and whispered to Hinata, "She still hung up on that loser?"

Hinata shrugged helplessly, "It's like a broken record."

Sasame returned to the gloomy pink kunoichi and rubbed Sakura's shoulder, "You know when I was really young, almost twelve. I was so in love with this guy. He was my everything. I believed so deeply in my heart that we were meant for each other and no one in all the five shinobi nations could change my mind. Then one day, I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings for him and-"

"He hit you in the back of the head," interrupted Sakura, "Knocking you unconscious, then abandoned you on an uncomfortable stone bench?"

Sasame paused on her trip through memory lane and studied Sakura carefully, "No. If that happened, I would have realized it was the beginning of a beautifully abusive relationship."

"Hint, hint," whispered Hinata.

"Oh," Sakura lifted her glass up and took another sip, "Well then what did happen?"

Sasame took another swig of sake and growled, "He said that he didn't believe in all that romance crap and walked away. Heartbroken and not willing to take 'No' for an answer, I secretly followed him around like a love-sick puppy then found him confessing his eternal love to my cousin, Emi the tramp. I came out of hiding, slugged him good, then left him on the ground with a bleeding nose."

"Serves the jerk right," Sakura gave her friend a thumbs up, "So what's your point in all this?"

"My point is," replied Sasame and she slowed her speech to make sure that Sakura was following every word, "When you're that young, one has limited experience in judging character and cannot possibly predict who the love of your life will be. People change over the years."

With her vision growing increasingly more hazy, Sakura nodded in agreement, "Ahhh, I see."

"I wish," said Hinata.

"Okay girls, time for us to close shop," said the bartender and gestured for them to head for the door, "You don't have to go home..."

"But you can't stay here," finished Sasame and dragged the lagging Konoha kunoichi by their arms, "Yeah, we know. Thanks for putting up with us."

It was an hour or two before dawn when the three kunoichi stumbled into the apartment to find their teammates strewn about the living room couch from binging on beer and old kung fu movies.

"Oh I know that snore," piped Hinata as Sasame pushed the Hyuuga by her crush, "That's Kiba-kun's snore!"

"Shhh," Sakura tiptoed over Sai's leg and past Naruto's outstretched arm, but it was damn near impossible when everything around her kept going in and out of focus.

Hinata gazed lovingly at the Inu's visage with it half plunged into a frilly couch cushion, "He has such a cute nose. I wonder... if I nuzzle his nose, will it be wet?"

"Whoah there," Sasame grabbed Hinata by the arm and redirected her to their bedroom, "No molesting allowed when both of you are drunk off your asses."

"Is everyone here," asked Sakura as she counted bodies, "I think there's someone missing." Then the kunoichi reached the hall leading to the bedrooms to be met in the middle by one irritated Aburame.

Dressed in tank and shorts, Shino crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the shloshed girls, "Good morning and what do we have here?"

"Uh," Sasame tried to think of an excuse, but Sakura answered for her.

"We found the information to infiltrate the enemy, sir and in celebration, we consumed vast amounts of alcohol," chimed Sakura then tapped the tip of her nose, "Shhhh, but we can't tell our team leader. He'll get angry."

Shino mumbled, "You'd be right."

Oblivious to her teammate's ire, Hinata rubbed her cheek along Sasame's shoulder and mewed, "Your shoulder is quite comfortable, Fuuma-san. I'm so tired...Schnaaawww-"

Sasame struggled to keep a snoring Hinata balanced on her shoulder while holding giggling Sakura up from falling, "Your Leaf girls are crazy but they sure can't hold their liquor," she tried to joke, only to get a disapproving frown from Shino.

"Ooo," Sakura waved her arm in the air, nearly hitting Sasame, and she bounced around frantically, "Ooo, ooh!"

Shino raised one eyebrow, "Do you need to use the bathroom, Haruno?"

Sakura pushed Sasame's hands away and leaned against the wall for support instead, "Sir, permission to speak, sir!"

Shino blinked under his sunglasses. He knew that he'd regret it, but he nodded anyways.

For some reason, Sakura felt that she had to get this off her chest. Almost as if it was a matter of life and death, "I just wanted you to know that I absolutely do have the co-who, uh co-ho-ho. Sasame-chan, whazz that word again?"

The Fuuma kunoichi was standing rim-rod straight and staring at the ceiling with an 'Oh Shit' kind of look on her face, "Cojones."

Sakura snapped her fingers, "That's it! Cojones! I DO have the cojones to date you. Sir, that is all, sir." She managed one last salute before tumbling into a passed-out heap on the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it.

Enjoy!

**Chapter Four**

It was far too late for the night life to be out on the prowl and too early for the first risers to greet the sun, but there were actual creatures making their way through the sleepy streets. Several types of birds, mice, even a ferret or two scurried from one crack in a house to the next, looking for any sign of Juugu's teammate.

Tiny claws and wings worked on overtime to search for her scent, all the while avoiding any humans wandering about at this godforsaken hour. Then one mottled brown swallow noticed an inordinate number of humans that were awake and milled around in one building.

It fluttered to the edge of a window and peeked inside what looked to be a security room. Live footage of the different floors switched from one room to the next. Then the screen brought up the image of a woman half covered with a cloak pattern like Juugo-sama's. Two strangers came into view then walked past the woman. She stuck out a foot at one side, attempting to trip one guy, but he easily avoided her without even thinking. The camera followed the men as they exited the room then blinked back to Karin, who sighed through her gag and began tapping a foot impatiently.

A door opened from the side and the same two men strode into the open air. One took a deep breath and stretched his arms.

"Another uneventful night spent in the company of an Akatsuki wannabe," mumbled the first, "And we still have the whole day ahead of us. I hope Ao knows what he's doing, Meizu. It's getting damn boring waiting for Taka to show up."

The second shinobi yawned, "Yeah, Taka is the least of my worries right now. All I want is catch some Z's before we have to take names down for the tournament."

Satisfied with what it heard, the brown swallow flew over the head of Yuudachi, who instinctively dodged the bomb that hit the ground with a soft splat.

Meizu checked his own uniform and brushed off some lint from his shoulder, "Dang, that was close."

The sparrow joined it's flock circling above and lead the group towards the outskirts of the city. Three figures resting in the shadows of one large treetop grew closer until all the birds landed in the branches or their tall master, Juugo.

Sasuke remained seated against the tree trunk and ignored the insisted chattering of the birds, "Anything?"

Juugo lifted the sparrow on his hand and the rest flittered away to their nests, "She's still in town, but her scent leads from one end of Fuuma Alley and through to the other side."

Suigetsu yawned and stretched his limbs, "So where is Karin now?"

Juugo pointed to the left side of the darkened streets, "The sparrows tell me there are a lot of guards along with foreign shinobi. They describe three waves along their hitae-ate."

"Mist," growled Suigetsu and fingered his blade, "It had to be those smart ass bastards."

Sasuke turned to look at Juugo, "One of them didn't happen to have a patch over one eye?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"Him again," Sasuke closed his eyes and muttered, "If Mist is here, then Konoha will be or already are."

"This is becoming more trouble that it's worth," grumbled Suigetsu then jumped down and walked away with a spring in his step, "Too bad! I know this great watering hole with real cute waitresses only two days walk from here. Surely one of them is decent at first aid."

"Another step and that blade of yours goes up your backside. Besides you know why we need Karin," Sasuke stood up and walked towards the comatose town, "Having some Leaf here already is very convenient. Saves me the time in chasing down stragglers."

The other two gawked after their leader like he had a screw loose which had been happening more often these days then they ran to catch up with him.

"Where are we going," asked Juugo.

"Orochimaru's old post is a half hour west from here." Memories of the landmarks leading to the underground fort brought the Taka to where there should have been a stone stairwell going into the mountainside.

The three shinobi stared at the huge boulders filling the sinkhole that used to be the entrance to one of the Snake Sanin's favorite haunts.

"Chalk another point for the Leaf," Suigetsu licked a finger and slashed an imaginary line in the air, "Old Oro sure knew how to make enemies."

Sasuke's eye twitched in growing annoyance. How was it that Naruto managed to leave his mark where he had passed through years ago? Will the Dobe ever stop chasing him? Electrical chirping filled the air as a chidori formed in his palm then Sasuke ran at the largest boulder with a vengeance. The resulting destruction and flying debris made Juugo and Suigetsu duck for cover. Then they peered into the rising dust cloud to see Sasuke jumping down the hole.

"Oh no Sasuke wait... Stop," droned Suigetsu as he leaned on his broadsword and coughed on some dust, "There could be leftover zombie experiments down there or half-dead prisoners with infectious diseases and more lovely traps that could slice you head clean off."

Juugo looked down at Suigetsu, "You're not going to follow?"

The other gave a tired sigh then marched forward, "I suppose it would be polite to give him some back up."

With cereal boxes, bowls, and milk gathered in his arms, a panicked Naruto came rushing out of the kitchen and ran across Shino, Kiba, and Sai as they came out of their bedroom. He handed each of them their dishes and mini-cereal boxes.

Naruto explained hurriedly, "Dudes, if you cherish the sparkling memories of the wonderful women we know, you will turn around now and not go into that kitchen." Then the blond ran for a mind-numbing dose of morning television therapy.

Sai quirked an intrigued eyebrow and grabbed his notebook while the other two wisely retreated with their breakfast. Not long after Shino and Kiba shuffled back to their room, a pink disheveled mass crawled out from the bedroom then managed to cross a vast expanse that was the hallway and into the oasis called 'Kitchen'.

Sasame-Zombie and Horrifying Hinata were already in the kitchen, mixing together the Fuuma's secret recipe for Hair of Dog, sans any actual follicles belonging to Akamaru. Despite since her vision that had gone wonky from her heavy lids being encrusted shut, Sasame expertly worked by memory and feel around the kitchen in adding the right ingredients with approximate measurements.

With Sai trailing discretely behind her, Sakura of the Undead attempted to wave a weak hand at the others, but it barely made past her waist, "Guuh-muhuh." Her eyes were red and puffy coupled with taste of rancid alcohol and fuzzy coating of plaque in her mouth.

Hinata pointed to her own head that throbbed with pain, "Uguh?" Her ordinarily bright pearly eyes were several shades of pink and her long hair was a mottled mess, sticking every which way possible except straight up.

"Uuuuhh," moaned Sakura in assent as she sidled next to the other two.

Sasame glanced at her friend and muttered, "Uu-huuh," in response then handed out large glasses of something red and goopy. Altogether, the three girls popped aspirin into their mouths, lifted the drinks then downed the Fuuma hangover cure with long, swift gulps. Their faces transitioned from various stages of pain and disgust then relaxed into some semblance of relief.

Sai watched the interaction with fascination at this new turn in his studies of the female of the species and their elusive ways.

'Perhaps I have just witnessed the secret code of Girl Talk? More, I need more.' Eager for another breakthrough, Sai intercepted Sakura as she tried to walk out the kitchen.

He adopted the exact same expression that Sakura had only a moment ago and grunted in soft high pitched tone, "Uuuh-uugh. Um... Aoogah, aoogah!" Sai found his face doused with a glass full of tomato juice and, guessing from the growing burn in his eyes, a healthy dash of hot sauce.

Ignoring sounds of thrashing coming from the kitchen, Shino sat at the kitchen table with his breakfast left untouched and drumming his fingers incessantly on the table surface.

Kiba kept digging into his cereal and glanced his teammate from across the table, "You're gonna drill a hole through that table if you're not careful."

Shino's fingers stopped in mid air then he glared at Kiba through his dark glasses.

"Hmph, for someone who doesn't get hangovers, you sure are grumpy this morning. What's got you in such a bad mood?"

Shino pondered whether to tell his best friend about last night's incident and asked cryptically, "Have you ever made a wish that turned around and bit you on the ass?"

Kiba took a moment to think, "Well, there was that one kunoichi a couple years ago that I asked out on a date and it turned out she had fangs bigger than mine. After a week of rolling in the sack with her, I had to break it off. I couldn't handle the blood loss."

Shino remained quiet for a moment then mumbled, "Pretend I never asked the question."

"Sure thing!" Kiba slurped the last of his cereal then plopped the empty bowl on the table, "Now are you gonna answer mine?"

Shino saw that determined look in the Inu's eyes and knew he wasn't getting out of it, "Remember that summer evening when everyone in the Konoha Eleven hung out on that grassy hill and gazed at the sky for hours? Then there was a shooting star that shot across the sky. "

With a fond smile, Kiba nodded at the memories of those lost days of innocence.

"I made a wish that night."

Kiba shrugged, "Pfft, who didn't! I bet Akamaru over here wished for a T-bone steak as big as a bijou." Akamaru barked in response and wagged his tail for added confirmation.

"Only you're not supposed to tell anyone before it happens or it won't come true," teased Kiba and patted the dog on the head, "Too bad for you, boy. So how does this apply to you, Shino?"

Shino laid his head in both palms then sighed, "I've got the opposite problem."

"Your wish came true?" Kiba whooped and slammed a hand on the table repeatedly, rattling his bowl and spoon, "Then ya' gotta tell me, man!"

"I wished that one day a beautiful woman would fall at my feet," Shino bristled from under his teammates growing grin and slowly growled out, "A woman as beautiful and brilliant as Haruno Sakura."

Kiba's eyes went wide and nearly fell backwards in shock, "Sakura-chan? You wished for Sakura-chan?" He whistled and scratched his neck as he fully processed what was just said, "Dude, that's wishing BIG! At age twelve, there were already three guys battling it out for her and stupid Sasuke was fighting not to win. But seriously, getting in the middle of that mess was like begging for an ass kicking contest with a kage!"

"Since when were wishes supposed to be logical?" Shino shot back. It was bad enough he cursed himself for harboring such a foolish daydream.

Kiba held his hands up in defense then nodded, "Okay, point taken. But I have to say, I'm real disappointed in you, Shino."

Shino frowned deeply at the Inu's scolding, "What? Why?"

"I could smell the booze rising off the girls this morning. Never in a million years would I believe you'd stoop so low to fulfill a wish. It's not like you to take advantage of a woman when she's drunk."

Shino's hand shot over the table and grabbed Kiba by the shirt, "Say that to me again and I'll break every bone in your body!"

Freaked out by Shino's quick change from his usually cool temper, Kiba stammered in his defense, "B-but you said she fell at your feet."

"YES! Literally," he pushed the other down, "She fell down and passed out on top of my foot. Hurt too."

Kiba winced in sympathy for his friend, "Kami, that's messed up. Figures we would get the one shooting star with a sick sense of humor. Wonder if I can take my wish back," he mumbled to himself.

"Could we get back to the matter at hand? What do I do about Sakura?"

Kiba rubbed his chin, "Well, how good is her memory?"

"She has an excellent memory, but I don't think she's used to binge drinking. There's a good chance last night will be a complete blank."

"Then as long as she never remembers you're home free. Don't see a problem." Kiba noticed Shino lower his gaze and nervously rub behind his neck, "Unless you want her to... Why the hell would you want both of you to relive such an embarrassing, humiliating, absolutely ego-crushing- "

"You finished," interrupted Shino.

"Experience," Kiba scratched his head in confusion, "It makes no sense at all."

"It's because of what she said before passing out. Sakura wanted me to know that she had the cojones to date me."

A sly grin crossed along Kiba's face and he hummed, "Hmmm, now that's food for thought. Apparently our little cherry blossom isn't as deeply in love with the Uchiha as she thinks she is. She's open to options and, surprise surprise, guess who's at the top of the list!"

Shino shook his head, "I can't jump to conclusions yet, Kiba. She was intoxicated."

"And she finally felt free enough to express herself," encouraged Kiba, "No girl would ever say something like that if there wasn't a grain of truth to it. You've got to follow this through, man. If anything, to break Sakura of that crazy Sasuke obsession and get her to move on."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely! Show her how a real romance is supposed to work and make her forget all about that traitor," Kiba looked into the other's dark glasses and stated in all seriousness, "Shino, you must do it for the good of all Konoha. So the rest of us can finally get a crack at her."

"Ha," replied Shino with no mirth at all.

A couple hours later, the three kunoichi re-emerged from their bedroom with hardly a trace left from the night before and went looking for some much needed food.

Naruto gave his pink teammate a happy slap on the back, making her tip over a bowl of cereal, "Good morning Sakura-chan, welcome to the land of the living. It's nice to see your bright and shining smile again. Just so you know, I have a crucifix in my bag and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Very funny, Naruto," grumbled Sakura as she wiped up the spilled milk and cereal, "And that only works on vampires."

As Shino, Kiba and Akamaru exited the bedroom, Kiba whispered to his teammate, "Alright, leave the talking to me and I'll test the waters for you." Quick as wink, the Inuzuka scooted into one seat beside Sakura while Shino slipped into the other chair.

"Good morning Haruno-san, enjoying that cereal? Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. So Haruno, we're just a bit curious, but do you remember anything that happened last night?"

An overwhelming silence alerted Sakura that she was the center of attention and she better have a good answer.

Truth be told, her memories were a little fuzzy as she attempted to recall last night's events. Inside her groggy mind, bits and pieces revealed themselves in a haphazard order. Sasame's helpful hints at the bar made her wince and Hinata's revelation was heart wrenching, but nothing seemed so strange that called for this kind of interrogation. There was one memory that was, metaphorically speaking, pushed deep into a corner and locked in a box. Inner Sakura sat on top of it with a deep frown on her face and arms firmly crossed. No matter how much the real Sakura poked and prodded to access the memory, Inner Sakura absolutely refused to budge.

"Anything at all," Kiba pressed further and leaned closer to study her green eyes for any lies.

"There are a few things," Sakura leaned out of range and glanced at Hinata then Naruto, "But I'd rather not get into them right now. Although I think there was something about sports..."

"Heya, hiya, ho there! What's cookin' good lookin'," Sasame grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and shuffled both girls towards the door, "Sorry to take off like this, but we need to head out and pick up some important feminine hygiene products from the store. Talk to you guys later."

Recognizing a retreat when he saw one, Kiba reached to one side and absentmindedly scratched behind Akamaru's ears, "She doesn't remember squat."

Shino silently nodded then pulled his hood overhead to brood.

"What was that all about, Sasame-chan," asked Sakura as the three kunoichi ambled down the stairs.

"Neither of you may not remember last night, but I do and trust me, you do not want to go there. Especially you, Sakura."

"Y-you're not making any sense, Sasame-san," whispered Hinata.

"Okay, have you girls ever done anything so stupid, so incredibly insane, that the slightest hint of the memory makes you go," Sasame covered both ears with her hands and sang out, "Laaah-la-laaadeedah! It never happened. It never haaaa-pened."

Sakura stared at the crazy girl dancing in front of her, "No, I don't think I've ever done anything that embarrassing."

Sasame dropped her hands and looked deeply into Sakura's eyes, "You have now."

After grabbing some breakfast from a food stand, Sasame sat on the picnic bench next the two Leaf girls, who were too busy digesting the condensed information about last night.

Chewing her nails to the nub, Sakura whimpered to Hinata, "You don't think he knows what 'Cojones' mean?"

Hinata rolled her eyes up to think, "If he doesn't, I'm sure he knows where to find out."

Sakura groaned and rested her head on the table's edge, "He'll never look at me the same way anymore and everyone else won't take me seriously as a shinobi. Now Sasuke-kun will think I'm an unfaithful whore for not waiting!"

"What," Sasame put her soda down and tapped the pink kunoichi on the head, "YOU think he's doing the same for you? Time to get a grip on reality."

Sakura bounced her forehead on the table repeatedly, shaking the whole thing so hard that Sasame had to clear the food plates before they went flying in the air.

"N-no one is perfect," reminded Hinata as she tried to comfort her friend, "Please stop hurting yourself. People are looking at us."

Sakura sat up straight and rubbed her forehead with cooling chakra, "Gomen. What do I do now?"

Hinata shrugged, "Move on and hope Shino n-never brings it up in the future. We still have a mission to complete. Just keep your focus on that and soon this'll be like a bad dream."

With a tall bag full of groceries as cover, the kunoichi returned to the apartment where the rest of the teams were getting ready to leave.

"Good, you're back," said Shino and waved them to the living room.

Sakura refused to make eye contact with anyone but Team Seven and stood between Naruto and Sai, nervously rolling her thumbs as the group waited for their orders.

"We're keeping it simple, everyone," Shino stood in the middle of the two teams, "The three sign up posts are at the south gates, The Pot of Gold casino, and the Lucky Tavern. Candidates for each scroll hit the meeting point one at a time. Then we reconvene back here in two hours. Dismissed."

With a quick salute and a flicker, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto ran south for the city gates while Shino and Sai went east to the popular coin slots. Sakura and Hinata walked normally among the crowds toward the hostess bars while Sasame followed them from the top of the city buildings as their back up.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan until Hinata played it cautious and took a close look at the contact waiting at the bar.

Panicking, Hinata grabbed Sakura by the hand and pulled her behind a souvenir cart, "Oh kami, it's him!"

The pink kunoichi frowned and asked, "Who?"

"Ao," squeaked Hinata, "The M-Mist jounin with half the Byakugan. Everyone in the Hyuuga clan was required to read his file, but I never thought I would ever come across him like this."

"Did he sense you?"

"I d-don't think so," She used her kekkei again to double check, "No, his one eye isn't nearly as sensitive as mine. Oooh why him? Why now?"

Sasame landed next to the pair, "What's the matter? Why is Hinata freaking out?"

"There's a complication at the bar," explained Sakura, "The guy with the scrolls is a shinobi and he has the Byakugan. He could blow the whole operation in our faces."

Sasame winced and offered, "Could you do a henge?"

Sakura shook her head, "Not a chance. He'll see right through it."

"I can't do it," spazzed Hinata, "I just can't walk in there. The moment he sees me then the jig is up! Then we might as well go home and face the Hokage, the Elders, not to mention my f-father and explain to all of them why we failed in a what was supposed to be a s-simple extraction mission."

A nightmare loomed from inside her head and Hinata began to breathe heavily and start going into a hyperventilating fit, "F-failure! L-loser! Ta-Ta-Ta-Total cock up!"

"Get yourself together, girl," Sasame slapped Hinata across the cheek, snapping the kunoichi from her mental breakdown. Then Sasame looked at the bar and sighed, "I can't do it either. I hang out in this part of town too much. They know my face. You'll have to do it, Sakura."

"What?"


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

**Chapter Five**

Inside the murky bar, Ao sat in the corner of his assigned table with two of scrolls of paper and pens. With a kunai scratching on the table and ankle bouncing incessantly, the Mist jounin sat completely bored out of his mind, wondering how he got roped into being a secretary to Wagarashi's secretary. And to make things worse, another half-wit was slinking towards him as if trying to be a ninja.

Ao slumped in his seat and quickly polished off his sake, 'It's going to be one of those days.'

"Psst," hissed the wannabe while trying to cover his face with a dark hooded cloak, "The half moon shines down on the midnight lotus as it blooms verily into the starless evening."

Ao didn't move a muscle. He merely glared sideways at the hooded idiot.

The half-wit cleared his throat and tried again, "The half moon? The midnight lotus blooms verily into the evening... quite stupid verily into the starless evening. Look, I'm holding up my end of the bargain here. I give you the correct passwords. Then you're supposed to respond with a secret phrase of your own. Something about crickets and nightingales."

Ao snorted and waved a dismissive hand, "I don't do poetry, especially bad poetry. There are two scrolls here. This is for poker and this is for Pool. Pick one!"

After sliding the poker scroll closer, the man paused theatrically as he tried to think of a catchy handle, "What do you think of," He wiggled his fingers mysteriously, "Beni-sama, Master of the Cards."

Ao curled a lip in disgust, "Call yourself Bumpy Boobies for all I care. Just sign the damn list and get out!"

Beni-sama frowned then scribbled his new name after the other participants, "Wagarashi sure is getting substandard help nowadays. I'll be sure to mention your insolence when I win this tournament."

The Mist nin yawned at the pathetic threat and replied, "You done talkin'? Good, now get out of here before I tell everyone about your froggy speedos." Ao chuckled as the guy sputtered with his hands automatically covering his crotch then pulled his cloak closer around himself.

Ao sneered and twisted the knife further, "Although, from my end it looks more like butt string to me. How do you walk in those? You're not one of those freaky-dinks, are you?"

Beni-sama scowled once more then he hurried out of the bar before anyone he knew overheard his secret.

Ao laughed at the retreating fellow and raised a finger at the bartender for another drink, "Maybe this day won't be as bad as I thought." Then he stopped laughing when a dainty young lady with pink hair tucked under a hat came darting through the doors and slid into the first empty chair she could find.

She waited long enough to give her eyes to become accustomed to the low lighting and as she searched the booths, Ao took the time to observe her every movement, most especially her chakra.

'A kunoichi? And from how she stores chakra, possibly a medic. Tch, she's still green too," He shook his head disapprovingly, 'Her network hovers just slightly off balance. Mizukage would never let any of her kunoichi's network get that sloppy.'

'Now I'm gonna have to chase her off. Too bad, Wagarashi would be throw a huge shit fit to find shinobi participating in his precious tournament.' Then an evil grin grew on his face as a fun idea took root, 'Fuck, Wagarashi. Let's see how big we can build the fireworks.'

The skittish girl wandered to his table and before she could open her mouth Ao slid the scrolls to her. Green eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she quickly wrote down her name on the Poker list.

Ao lifted the paper and read the name aloud, "Hinata?" He studied her for a second and sneered, "No, you don't look like a Hina to me... More like a 'Sakura'. And he pointed at the pink strands hiding inside the hat.

The girl gasped and pulled the edge of her hat down further. With a pitful pout, the kunoichi sighed, "Well, at least today can't get any worse."

He chuckled and handed her back one scroll, "Look sweetheart, life ain't about playing it safe all the time. Screw up some courage and take a chance." When the kunoichi realized she was getting a second chance at his expense, she gingerly picked up the pen.

* * *

Shino stared at the nervous Sakura, who sat at the kitchen table with downcast eyes, "You signed yourself for the wrong scroll?"

Sakura pulled her chin up proudly, but she really felt like hiding from those dark glasses, "I had to. Hinata was having a nervous breakdown and he was getting suspicious. Our cover could have been blown."

"But you don't know the first thing about cards," moaned Kiba from the other side of the kitchen, "You'll get eliminated in the first round then the plan will be short one man. You were supposed to sign up for pool with the rest of Team Seven. Why didn't you?"

Leaning forward from some pretzels from a snack bowl, Sakura shrugged in all innocence and replied, "I don't know anything about pool either. I've played card games before. Why is this any different?"

Hands shaking into his brown hair, Kiba drew in a hash breath to control his temper, "There's so much...I-I can't even begin to tell you."

"Perhaps if you go back to the meeting point and ask to switch lists," interrupted Naruto in hopes of diffusing the situation.

Sasame shook her head, "Nope, they're gone and there won't be anymore sign ups for the general public. We barely made it to the south gates in time to sign Hinata for the pool list. Seriously guys, don't blame her. We had to move fast before everything unravelled. At least we kept things balanced."

"Then maybe we should re-think our plans," Sai picked up some peanuts from the snack bowl and munched on one nut at a time, "Perhaps Hinata should henge into Sakura for the tournament and vice versa."

"Ao might be there," reminded Hinata and she shuddered.

Kiba leaned against the wall to think, "Yeah, but he can't be around all the time. There's gotta be something else we can do to get you to the poker tables, Hinata."

"You don't think I can play poker," Sakura asked sweetly with a killer glint in her eye.

Shino wisely kept his mouth shut, but Naruto and Kiba burst into fits of laughter along with Sai giving her one of those horrid fake smiles. The laughter eventually died when she stood up from the table, picked up two fistful of peanuts and crushed each hand slowly, methodically before their eyes until raw oil wept from her gloved fists.

All four guys automatically pressed their knees together and Naruto smiled too brightly, "Of course you can do it, Sakura! You're so smart and pretty and strong."

"Real strong," Sai muttered under his breath.

"Did I already say that you're pretty," squeaked Naruto.

"Yes you did," mumbled Sasame as she stared hard at her can of soda.

"Nothing for it now, Haruno," said Shino and he stood from his seat, "You want to compete in the tournament then I'll teach you how to play poker."

Hinata and Sasame exchanged looks with the same idea popping into their heads. It was the perfect set up that neither one could have put together themselves. Both were on the verge of squealing when Naruto had to throw a wrench in the works.

"You know when it comes to keeping emotion under wraps, Sai might be a good teacher, ARGH!" Naruto grabbed his foot and howled in pain from the Fuuma kunoichi slamming her heel on his bare foot, "Damn it, Sasame! What was that for?"

Sasame blinked her eyes in all innocence, "I have no idea what you're talking about? I was simply walking here."

"Hmph," Pouting slightly, Naruto sidled away from the Fuuma, "What I was about to say is that- AHHH! Hinata? What the hell?"

The Hyuuga kunoichi smiled shyly at him as she pulled her foot from his own, "Is something the m-matter, Naruto-kun?"

"Uh, nooo. Not a thing." Backing away from the obviously insane women, Naruto made sure there was a safe distance between him and them, "AHHH!" Naruto collapsed and held his toes once more.

"SAI?!" screamed Naruto from the floor.

Sai watched his teammate whine and quirked his head to one side, "I'm sorry. I assumed it was the sociable thing to do at the moment."

"If you insist on going through with this, Sakura, You couldn't ask for a better teacher," confirmed Kiba and pushed his teammate closer to Sakura, "Shino is the best of poker player I know and the most patient. He has the killer skills and really knows how to read his opponents."

Swallowing her pride, Sakura bowed at the waist and pleaded, "Please teach me, Aburame-san. I would be forever in your debt."

"There's a lot to explain so let's go somewhere quiet." Shino waved a hand to the bedrooms and led Sakura into where the guys slept.

Once Shino closed off the bedroom from prying eyes, the girls dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to the door. Hinata activated her eyes while Sasame pressed one ear to the door.

Naruto whispered from behind the girls, "What's the hell is going on?"

Both kunoichi shushed harshly at Naruto then returned to the door. Naruto looked at Sai, who looked just as stumped as he was while Kiba calmly stretched out on the couch and listened very, very carefully.

After shutting the door, Shino turned around to study the pink-haired woman, 'And there she is, Haruno Sakura. A dedicated medic possessing great strength and even stronger emotions. While these traits are what make her Sakura, they are not the most helpful qualities for a poker player to have.' Shino wondered if he really was doing this for the good of the mission or letting a pretty female use him to cover up for her poor decisions.

She patiently waited at the tea table in the corner of the room. Then Sakura looked at him from her seat with those big green eyes and gave him a shy smile.

'I'm helping a teammate for the good of the mission. Her being pretty has nothing to do with it,' Tugging his collar higher to hide a growing blush, Shino walked to his bag and dug out a packet of cards.

Then he sat across the table from Sakura and said, "Well Haruno, I have seven days to turn you into an ace poker player. A challenge, yes. But your intelligence has always impressed me and I believe you can do it."

Sakura sat up in her spot a little straighter, "Thank you, Shino. I promise to do my best."

"I know you will," Shino picked up the stack of cards and started shuffling them from one hand to the next, "So what are you familiar with? Pocket Aces, Eight-Six Suited, Five Card Draw?"

Sakura lightly licked her lips as the words washed over her like a foreign language, "Does 'Go Fish' count?"

The flying cards missed Shino's open hand and shot off to one side.

"Fifty Two Pick Up," grinned the kunoichi and pointed to the fallen cards, "I know that one."

There was a stark moment of silence in the entire apartment then Kiba's laughter exploded from behind the door. Shino quietly stood up from the table then slammed his elbow into the door with a loud thud that promised harsh reprisals. The laughter immediately died down to a dull roar.

"I'm just kidding, Shino," giggled Sakura then she lifted a determined fist to the table and proudly stated, "Back in the day, my grammy and I played a mean game of cribbage."

This time Naruto's laughter joined Kiba as Hinata and Sasame groaned into their hands.

Shino sighed as he removed his shades with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, "At least, it's a start."

* * *

As the others paid a disturbing amout of attention to a simple bedroom door, Sai stood off in the far side of the living room and watched the bevy of non-activity. He was told creating good relationships with his teammates was paramount, but when it came to team dynamics, his teammates' antics continued to baffle him.

'Most of the time, if I want to be honest,' He studied each person's face and tried to identify their emotions, 'Naruto is happily clueless again. Hinata-san is nervous and Sasame-san appears excited. Kiba is trying to play cool, but by the way his eyes stare at the blank wall, he's just as interest as everyone else.' Then he glanced at Akamaru who sneaking into the kitchen.

'And the bottomless pit is hungry. I suppose I'm not really needed around here.' Growing restless without realizing it, Sai meandered out the apartment and wandered into the busy street.

'Alright, now that I'm outside. What now?' He watched the people bustle from one thing to the next then followed a couple walking into a park. Looking around, he sat down on a bench and opened his pack. In a matter of minutes, Sai began doing sketch of random pedestrians and didn't notice someone storming to him.

"Oi! This is my spot," yelled a small, round fellow covered in strips of old clothes and a beggar's bowl in hand, "The last thing I need is competition from some hot shot artist. Go on git!"

Sai tilted his head and used a smile that set everyone on edge without fail, "Go where? At the moment I have nothing to do."

"Not my problem. Hit the casinos or get a job, lazy bum!" Then the man was startled to see his annoying rival disappear in the blink of an eye.

Sai looked down on the confused beggar from a rooftop and tapped his chin, "Perhaps the cockroach is right. I should do my job and do some reconnaissance on our target."

Standing at a corner a short distance away from Karin's prison, Sai watched the guards mill around the building. He discretely masked his chakra before taking out his brush and scroll. He rambled in his pack for a while, pulling one bottle of ink out only to put it back. Then he raised a little round pot and nodded in satisfaction. Sai unscrewed the top then loaded the brush with a blob of dark ink. He bit his thumb and smeared the blood on his scroll then swiped the special ink across the red-brown smear.

Once Sai activated the jutsu, the blob of ink shimmied and wiggled until it fell off the scroll. The moment it hit the ground the ink blob slithered along the ground and headed for the stronghold. It easily slipped within the walls, past all the security measures until entering Karin's room from a crack in the plaster.

"Seeing that we got another week to kill and you've been such a good girl," Yuudachi pulled the sock out of her mouth and untied the knot around her hands, "You've been granted a touch of freedom. Enjoy it while you can, Karin. Some rations are under the cot and I'll be back in four hours for your bathroom break." He headed for the door then heard her call out to him.

"Hey, jackass what about my feet?" She lifted her ankles to show the rope around them.

He snorted and gestured to her hands, "And give you a chance to lift the key? Do it your damn self, girl." Then he went out the door and locked it tight.

As she listened to the sound of a metal rod slide across the door, Karin easily pulled apart the knots around her feet then kicked the rope to one corner. She stood up from the chair then twisted to and fro until she heard her spine crack. Then something dark and goopy in a corner of the room caught her eye.

Karin stepped closer to it then squealed and jumped back when the blob moved towards her. It slid further forward then the dark puddle wiggled into words.

"Are you Karin?" Then the words reshaped to explain, "Please write your answer in the ink." Karin winced at the prospect of dirtying her fingers, but stretched one hand to the blob. No point in ignoring the blob. It might be Taka trying to confirm her location.

Not feeling any change to the guards' positions, her red eyes returned from the door then pressed her finger into the blob and wrote, "Hai."

The words reshaped themselves and Karin read aloud, "Why did you stop us from taking you out of there?"

"Damn it, not Taka!" The kunoichi swore some more as she quickly wrote, "I didn't want your help."

"Why?"

"None of your business, Leaf," Karin scrawled in the ink with extra pressure, "Leave me alone."

The words moved once more, "I will... for now." Then the blob slithered back the way it came, leaving little splatterings of ink in it's wake.

After waiting a minute to see if there was anymore movement from the leftover spots, Karin then stomped and scuffed the tip of her shoe along the bits. She felt a little better after taking out all her anger and frustration on the ink.

She walked back and forth in the tiny room then plopped on her cot, "Where the hell is Sasuke-kun? He should be missing me by now. It wasn't supposed to take him this long." Karin fumed at she re-assesed her situation. She hadn't planned on her plot to get Sasuke to come riding to her rescue backfiring on her like this. Sasuke-kun needed her to help him finish his plan to attack Konoha.

'Didn't he?' Karin nervously bit her lower lip. Maybe she should have given some more thought to all the angles of the plan.

"What did it mean by 'For now'? Does it meant that it'll be back? And if so, will it be an actual person or a puddle of ink?" She recalled the night when the Leaf attempted to steal her from Wagarashi and thought about the two ninja who stood outside the door. One had strange fluctuations that grew stronger when a jutsu was activated then dwindled to next to nothing when idle. The other was a clone which had the standard pattern of your average ANBU operative... skilled, precise, and under complete control to the minutae. What few seconds she had to see the actual clone instead of it's chakra, Karin noted that face was young like hers and quite easy on the eyes, almost like Sasuke-kun.

Sitting up properly, Karin closed her eyes, deepened her breathing, and concentrated on finding the two patterns from that night. The area around her lit up with the different auras of chakra. She ignored the guards and the regular civilians. She went right to the outdoors and searched the area.

'Gotcha!' She focused her mind's eye to the smooth chakra that the operative expertly hid from most shinobi, 'Most, but not me.' He was packing up his things then stood up to stare in her direction. Knowing that he had no ability to see what she was doing, Karin studied him as best she could. She watched him walk into the crowd of regular people then lost his signiture when it blended with the others. An interesting skill that many shinobi had not yet honed.

Karin shrugged then opened her eyes to look at her prison again, "Hn, his chakra's not nearly as cool as Sasuke-kun's, but it's certainly easier to read then that disgusting Suigetsu."

Pouting on her cot, her mind wandered to nearly two weeks ago when Taka split up to lose their pursuers and Suigetsu goaded into her fighting with him again.

"Shut the hell up, Suigetsu," she yelled in his face, "You know I'm an important part of our team and Sasuke-kun would never vote me off in whatever stupid reality show you can think of." Then she lashed out with her leg kick, forcing him to melt into a puddle of clear water.

He reappeared behind her and leaned forward so that his breath tickled the edge of her ear, "What's it like in la-la land for you? It must be real nice." Then Suigetsu startled her with a whole new tactic .

He paused for a moment. It was long enough that she wondered what jutsu he was planning to use on her. Then he drifted his nose along the shell of her ear that sent a tingle down her spine. She heard him draw in a long breath and there was a soft hum from him.

Surprised by his intimate actions, she looked over her shoulder to where his lips lay in wait and found herself kissing Suigetsu with abandon. She closed her eyes and let him dominate her, thinking his sharpen teeth added the right amount of danger to something so simple as a kiss. Even if the mouth didn't belong to the one she really wanted, it felt so good to be wanted and desired. It had been forever since anyone had dared to touch her and life on the run with Sasuke wasn't the least bit romantic.

'Oh shit,' Her eyes flung open, 'What if Sasuke-kun found us like this?'

She pushed on Suigetsu's shoulders with both arms and screamed, "Fuck off and die, Suigetsu!" She could see the glimmer of hurt in his eyes and she turned around so as not to see.

He spat on the ground and snarled at her back, "I would if I could. Just to get the hell away from you!"

She twirled an uncaring hand in the air, "I'm waiting."

"Bah!" That shout was the last Karin heard from him before she felt his presence disappear.

Inside her cell, Karin got up off the cot and paced across the room, "Fucking stupid Suigetsu. I hate him for doing this to me! If he hadn't gotten me sooo pissed, I wouldn't have let those Iwa nin capture me. Now I'm have to wait around here and do nothing."

She could hear Suigetsu's snarky voice inside her head, "And how would this be different from any other day?"

Karin dropped onto her chair and muttered sadly, "Shut up."


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it.

Chapter 6

Dawn had barely broke over the small city and Sasame was on her way out of the Fuuma family enclave to meet the Leaf at their apartment. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, she zipped through the normally crowded halls and nodded quick greetings to the other early birds who wandered about. To her surprise, she found the last two people she would ever think be up at this hour. Emi and Kanpou were standing by the winding iron staircase and chatting quietly.

Kanpou was quick to hold out a hand and stopped Sasame from passing by, "Hey, stranger! What's your hurry? Haven't seen much of you lately."

Sasame laughed nervously, "Uh yeah, sorry about that. I've been pretty busy. My mission with Konoha is gonna keep me hopping for the next couple of weeks. I'd love to stay and shoot the breeze with you two, but I gotta go. The Leaf are expecting me for a morning meeting."

Then they watched Sasame skip down the steps all the while she whistled a happy tune. Kanpou grumbled to himself about never knowing that Sasame could whistle. Emi peered from one side at the guy's face and recognized the green eyed monster in Kanpou's sour expression.

"Oh poor rejected Kanpou." Emi rested her elbows on the railing of the iron staircase and sneered, "Can't you tell? Sasame-chan is in love and it's not with you."

He didn't say anything, but glared at Emi for barely a second then stalked for his room. She laughed at the fool and walked down the stairs for her morning assignment.

Just as Sasame reached the Leaf's apartment, the door opened and Akamaru came bounding out.

"Whoah there boy! Sorry about that," said Kiba as he grabbed Akamaru by the scruff of his neck, "He's in dire need of a walk. Hinata and I are going out with him. We should be back in a bit."

Sasame saluted, "And I'll hold down the fort!"

Hinata was tapping her fingertips as she followed Kiba out the door, "D-do I have to go? I would much rather stay."

Kiba rolled his eyes and walked behind the Hyuuga girl, "You need to get over your irrational fear of that Ao dude! Akamaru and I can smell any fishy Mist nin who gets too close and I'll be stay with you the entire time." He pushed the squeaking Hinata through the hall and led her down the stairs.

Knowing that Hinata need to break that fear for the tournament, Sasame waved at the trio, "You'll be fine, Hinata!"

After wandering inside the apartment, Sasame had barely enough time to greet Sai before he dropped out the window and she watched him rush toward the section of city where Karin was held.

"Well, geeze! That doesn't leave very many people for the meeting. I wonder who's left?" Then she heard a cheerful whistle echoing from the shower and a, "Where the hell did the shampoo go-dattebayo?"

Grinning to herself, Sasame settled into the living room couch like predator laying in wait for her prey. Her patience was paid off when a whistling Naruto bounced out of the bathroom, threw his dirty clothes towards the door for the laundry mat, and rushed past the living room. He would have headed directly into the kitchen if Sasame hadn't called his attention.

"Hey good lookin'," She waved a hand and winked, "You heading my way?"

Naruto turned to see the dark blond with her trademark hairstyle from years ago, half up and half down, beckoning him with a curling finger.

He ignored his rumbling stomach and reversed steps until parallel with the smiling Sasame, "Good morning! So what's a nice girl like you hanging out on a couch like this?"

Sasame quirked an eyebrow then gave him a saucy smirk, "I just woke up and boy, are you a dream come true." She patted the empty spot next to her and Naruto quickly snuck into the seat.

He lifted his arm up and around Sasame to rest on the top of the couch the murmured, "Baby, you must be tired cause you been running through my mind all day."

She countered his line with, "Tell me Uzumaki, is that a rabbit in your pants or are you just happy to see me?"

"Damn, that's a good one," Naruto snapped his fingers and furrowed his brow in thought, "Give me a minute to come up with something cheesier."

Sasame chuckled then leaned forward until she was nearly nose to nose with Naruto, "You know this verbal sparring we've got going could last all day. Shouldn't we skip the chitchat and get to the heart of the matter?"

"I couldn't agree more." He closed his blue eyes and pursed his lips together, smacking like a fish out of water.

Sasame tilted her head away from him and took on a serious tone, "I'm talking about Hinata."

"Oh." Naruto's happy smile disappeared and he fell backwards into the couch cushions, uncharacteristically quiet and somber about where this conversation was going.

She patted him on the hand gently, "I know that for Hinata it's been over a while, but I really need to know how things stand with you."

Sasame waited for him to ponder about the past and after a few minutes, he said sadly, "I respect Hinata-chan a lot and for a while, we were happy together. But then she moved in with me and problems kept jumping out at us. Stupid stuff actually. Differences in the little things about each other that we couldn't get past."

He blasted his frustrations at the ceiling, "I like to stay up late. Then she complains about not getting enough sleep when I jump out of bed at the crack of dawn. She's as neat as a pin. I'm-"

"A slob." Sasame glanced at the pile of dirty clothes balled together and thrown into a corner.

An embarrassed Naruto nodded and rubbed his blond hair, "Yeah, that caused more fights than I wanna admit and apparently, I snore like a bear on steroids."

Sasame winced and muttered to herself, "That description would sound about right."

"Hey!" After letting the Fuuma girl apologize, Naruto continued on, "Anyways, we decided neither one of us were ready for something that serious and kept our break up a secret. I guess Hinata wanted to avoid all the drama from the village. She's hung up about not disappointing everyone"

"So you definitely feel ready to move on," concluded Sasame.

A smile grew on his face and he nodded, "Yeah, no guarantees about the future though."

She slid her hand against the whisker marks across his cheek and murmured softly, "And I never asked for any."

Naruto let Sasame draw him close and when she brushed her lower lip lightly along his, he slipped hand around her waist and pulled her into him. They fell into a deep kiss with breaths mingling and faint moans escaping occasionally. Enjoying the rush of passion, Naruto pushed Sasame into the coach until he covered her body with his. She in turn wrapped a leg around his lower body and locked them together.

Both were so busy kissing and sneaking hands underneath clothing, they had forgotten that two more people were still in the apartment.

* * *

It was the second day in teaching Haruno how to play poker and Shino was already noticing problems with his student. As he expected, Sakura was fast to pick up on the logistics of the game. What continued to elude her was the finer points of reading the opponent then choosing her actions accordingly. Then there was the really big problem of her body. Not that he objected to giving Sakura long, lingering looks from behind his sunglasses, but only because he needed to decipher her body language. That's all!

The problem was that if people could be read like a book, Sakura was the equivalent of a brightly lit neon billboard at midnight. It was a testament of how honest the kunoichi was at heart and that hiding her true feelings for longer than a few minutes was not her strong suit.

Contented with his cards, Shino patiently waited as he observed the fiddling kunoichi across the table, 'Tsk, tsk, tsk. She broadcasts nearly everything going on in her pretty little head. From a finger twirling a lock of hair when she's thinking hard. Foot tapping when she's nervous, even nibbling her lower lip in that oh so cute way...' He quickly snapped himself from falling into another daydream about his crush. The last time he indulged fantasizing about Sakura, he nearly lost a game and he could hear Kiba snickering from behind the door.

Sakura peeked above the cards she held in front of her nose and stared at Shino, "I have three queens." Then she laid her hand down on the table in triumph.

"You sure you want to do that?"

A quick intake of breath from Sakura said she wasn't, but the kunoichi stayed the course, "Of course, I'm sure. Let me see your hand."

He shrugged and laid his cards on the table, "Kings, four of a kind. Otherwise known as Four Pips."

In a fit of frustration, Sakura threw her head into her hands and exclaimed, "How? How do you keep doing that? You can't smell if I'm lying and you don't have the byakugan. How do you do it?"

He swept the cards off the table and started shuffling them, "As much as Kiba and Hinata's talents would help them win at poker, my teammates do not need them."

'Especially when it comes to playing against someone like you,' But Shino wisely kept that tidbit to himself. He watched the confusion on her face gave way to disappointment in herself and Shino winced at how easy it was to read the kunoichi.

He leaned forward and circled a finger around her head, "Your game face is lacking, Sakura. You give too many tells, from tapping your toes to scratching an itch on your nose. They alert everyone else whether you've got a good hand or you're lying. Those are bad habits for a shinobi to have and worse for a poker player."

Sakura lowered her head and grumbled, "So I need to work harder to control them?"

"Yes," Then the guy tried softening the blow to her pride, "It's not entirely your fault. Being in Team Seven and a medic has given you the luxury of letting your emotions show in a battle."

"I guess you're right. Naruto was never one to hide. He never missed a chance to take on the enemy face to face. Kakashi-sensei was a bit on the overprotective side. Then S-," Sakura stumbled over her words for a moment then she quickly recovered, "Sai is so talented that emotions never have time to enter the fight."

Shino put the cards back into the box and grumbled, "We don't have enough time to teach a novice the skills that could take years to master. It might help if you adopt a different personality to hide your emotions behind. Think of it as an invisible mask or a hood for your expressions."

"A mask," Sakura murmured as she remembered Sai's first evaluation of her years ago, "I think I can work on that."

"Good," Shino got up from the table, picked up his coat, and walked for the door, "Why don't we break off from the lesson early and give you some time to figure out your new game face."

She got up to follow him, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know," Shino threw an arm up and gestured at Sakura, "Pretend to be someone other than you. I'll be back in a couple hours and this time we'll add stakes to the games." He zipped up his coat and hurried past Naruto and Sasame sitting on the couch then out the apartment.

* * *

Noises from the other side of the apartment alerted the two kissing on the couch and Naruto scrambled off of Sasame before Shino blasted past them.

When the Aburame nin had left, Naruto returned to cuddling with Sasame, but then a morose Sakura trudged by them and into the kitchen.

Sasame heard a frustrated whine come from the kitchen and unwrapped Naruto's arm from around her shoulders, "Perhaps I should check on Sakura. She might need some cheering up."

"Yeah you better," Naruto got up and gathered his clothes into a duffel bag, "I'll go catch up with Shino and see what's going on from his end. I need to do laundry anyways." He waved once before rushing out the door.

Sasame walked into the kitchen, picked up a couple of sodas from the fridge, and sat next to the morose Sakura, "Need help? I may not be as good as the Aburame, but poker is one of the first card games Fuuma teach their kids. I could give you a few pointers." She handed a can to the other, who readily accepted.

After taking a sip, Sakura sat up in her seat and mumbled, "Shino said that I need to work on my game face. I should adopt a persona or something like that. Basically, I have to act like anybody other than me."

Sasame clucked her tongue, "I dunno about that. It's usually easier using the personality you already have, but then this is poker we're getting into. It's all about hiding your tells from your opponents."

"I can do that," Sakura said defensively.

Sasame shook her head and crossed arms, "For longer than five minutes. It's a tournament remember."

Sakura drooped slightly then perked back up, "For how long then?"

"More like five hours each tournament day, maybe more."

"Oh." Sakura bit her lower lip in worry then hung her head, "Maybe Kiba was right. Maybe we should find a way to get Hinata to take my place."

"Don't you dare give up already, Haruno," scolded Sasame as she wagged finger at Sakura, "You don't have to mimic everything your teacher does. You just gotta figure out your own style."

She sat next to the pink kunoichi and broke it down for her, "A proper game face doesn't have to be stoic and serious like Shino. Look at the rest of Team Eight. Kiba is boisterous and playful while Hinata's sweet and shy."

Sakura shrugged, "They're like that most of the time already."

"Yes, but watch them closely in a game and those aspects of their original personalities become exaggerated. That way their opponents would pick up the false signals."

Sakura raised her arms and splashed soda from her can, "Now I have give out false signals too?"

"Pretty much," Sasame tapped the bottom of her chin in thought, "I figure Kiba has to work harder on covering his tells so he turns up the charm and so that he can set everyone else at ease. But Hinata-chan has got to be the most dangerous at the tables. She probably tries to hide mistakes that only a rookie would make which lures her opponents into a false sense of security. I bet they even let sweet little Hinata win the first few hands just so they don't feel too guilty before snatching the really big pot from underneath her. But by then it'll be too late."

Sakura sat her half empty soda down, "Hinata has the innocent sweetheart down pat, but I just can't keep my temper under control like her and no one's gonna believe that I'm a dummy with no poker experience."

"Weeell," drawled Sasame with a naughty smirk.

Sakura waved a fist glowing with killer chakra, "If you value your head, don't finish that sentence."

"So that pretty much leads you running the hot mama angle. I know for a fact you can do that," Sasame gave the Leaf kunoichi a wink and friendly slap on the rump, "So now all you gotta do is turn it up several notches."

Sakura sighed with resolution and stood up from the table, "I suppose so. I'll do whatever it takes to finish this mission."

"That's the spirit! Bring out the vixen within. Now let's see what you can do, babe."

"Okay," Sakura bounced on her toes while taking in a cleansing breath then flashed a bright grin from ear to ear. She put one hand on a hip, straightened her spine, and tottered across the room with tip-toe half steps. When Sakura reached the end of the kitchen, she spun on her heels for a tight twirl, flipped her hair with the free hand, then walked back to where she started.

Sakura looked back at Sasame eagerly, "How was that?"

Sasame winced for a second as she deliberated what to tell her friend, "Uh, you looked very cute."

Sakura frowned then stomped a foot on the floor, "Cute? Cute? I'm supposed to be going for sexpot. 'Cute' isn't good enough."

"Aw," The Fuuma girl cooed as she stood up and pinched Sakura on the cheek, "There's nothing wrong with working what ya' got, sweetie. You strike me as the naughty nurse type or sexy librarian."

Sakura slumped into the chair with a whine, "But I don't wanna be seen as a nurse or nerd."

"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it. Both persona are very popular in the clubs," teased Sasame, "The stores can hardly keep those costumes in stock."

"Shut up! I'm being serious here."

Sasame winked at Sakura, "So am I. Alright alright, forget the walk right now and see if dancing helps." She reached to the kitchen counter and switched on the radio.

A fun pop song was already playing and Sakura listened to the tempo. She alternated snapping fingers and wiggling her hips to the fast beat. She followed up with hopping and skipping from one foot to the next, waving her arms up and down. Then Sakura pinched her nose and shimmed down with one arm in the air.

Sasame shook her head at Sakura's inquiring glance, "The Supremes called. They're suing Kishimoto-sama for copyright infringement."

"But, the only other moves I know is the Bacchikoi dance," Sakura stuck her arms out, did half a squat and sang, "Bacchikoi, bacchikoi, baby..."

"STOP!" screamed a horrified Sasame and she covered her face with both hands, "Kami-sama, and here I thought nothing could be worse than the Makarena. Don't ever do that again."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders high, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Sasame tapped her chin in thought, "It's like when you're playing poker. You're technically doing everything right. The potential is there. It's just that... Damn, how do I explain. You're just not exuding the spirit of a sex goddess, Sakura. It's like you're keeping an emotional wall between your body and everyone else. It's holding you back."

Sasame saw the confused look on Sakura's face, "You need get hyped up and then use that energy to seduce the men around you."

"Okay, let me try this." This time she didn't bother with snapping her fingers and slowed her hip movements to half speed.

The other kunoichi sighed again, "Closer, but still not there. Ya' gotta feel the Need then channel it into your persona."

A thoroughly confused Sakura's furrowed her brow, "The Need? You're gonna have to explain it again."

"Ugh, how direct do I have to be," Sasame grabbed Sakura by the arms and shook her like a rattle, "Don't think horny. GET HORNY! You have to feel like you're two seconds away from pouncing on the nearest male and screwing his brains out!"

Sakura jumped away from the other and gasped in shock, "Sasame!"

The Fuuma kunoichi dropped her hands, "You begged me to help you let loose the vixen within for your new persona and I'm telling you how. I don't mean for you to actually jump a guy's bones, merely feel like it then use that personality during the game."

Sakura shuffled her feet and whimpered softly, "I don't know if I'm quite ready to bring that part of me into the open."

Sasame put both hands on her hips, "You're gonna for the tournament, even if I have to pour liquid courage down your throat." There was flash of defiance from Sakura's green eyes, but then she remembered Shino's sighs of disappointment in his pupil.

She slumped over and plopped into a chair, "If that's what it's gonna take, then you might as well."

"Wow, you really are down aren't you," mumbled Sasame and she felt sorry for her poor friend. She went to the kitchen door and took a good look around to make sure no one else was in the apartment.

After coming back, Sasame pulled Sakura down to her level and whispered, "I really shouldn't be telling you this. You're supposed to figure this out by yourself after learning the basics, but we don't have that kind of time. A part of poker is not only to lie your ass off or figure out if their bullshitting, but to also outbid your opponent. As long as you keep raising the stakes with or without good cards, then you will win."

"So it could all be a matter of who has got the bigger bank account," whispered Sakura as the concept made her head spin.

"When he has nothing left to bid with," Sasame displayed one open hand then the other, "And you do, your opponent is forced to fold and you automatically win!"

It was as if a light bulb blinked to on over Sakura's pink hair and she rose up in her chair, "Really? I can do that?"

The other kunoichi nodded, "And it's well within the rules of poker. The key is to feed your opponent's greed and have more money to bet with than him, otherwise you are royally fucked."

Sakura frowned and tapped her chin in thought, "If what you say is true then perhaps I can skew those odds in my favor." She scrambled to her feet and ran to the girls' bedroom. Sasame followed her friend and scratched her head as Sakura dug through a backpack, throwing clothes every which way.

"Ahah! I found it," Sakura raised her hand and proudly displayed a red scroll tied with a gold ribbon, "Shino said that we're adding stakes into the lessons when he gets back. We don't have chips, but I can suggest using our shuriken and kunai. One of the scrolls I lugged all the way from Konoha was one of Tenten's smaller weapon scrolls. She heard we might come across Akatsuki and said I could borrow it."

"I see where you're going with this," Then Sasame looked Sakura in the eye, "Do you feel ready to pull this kind of scam on Shino?"

Sakura held the scroll in front of her and breathed, "Don't know, but I just want to win Shino's respect, even if it means cheating."

Sasame gave her two thumbs up, "Then go for it! Goodness knows the guy needs to be pulled down a peg or two and you could use the confidence booster."

AN: I'm not sure if I conveyed Sakura's predicament properly. In this fic, Sakura is cutie pie sexy to the core, but it's not helping her win. She's like kpop Wonder Girls in "Nobody" when she needs to be Shakira in... Hell, pick a vid!


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Chapter Seven

The three missing nin finished settling into the old underground outpost that Orochimaru had set deep in the forest. Debris had been cleared from the few chambers that had not collapsed and leftover traps had been removed. They took a good long look at the dark, damp room. If Karin had been there, she would already be on her way out to buy food and various comforts the guys never had to think about before.

Sasuke glanced in Juugo's direction and said, "Head to town. We need supplies."

So there he was, the dreaded monster that helped create the Cursed Mark, on the hunt for supplies, clothing, and any news on Karin or her captors like a damn gopher. In addition to freeze-dried veggies and pot noodles, he bought himself and the others new street clothes so they could openly roam the city. He heard whispers of some sort of tournament. It sounded interesting, but every time he wandered a little too close, the gossipers would shut their yaps tighter than steel traps. A big lumbering guy like him would intimidate anyone just by casting his shadow in their direction.

Stepping out of a second hand store, Juugo wrapped a new blue cloak around his tall frame and glanced around the back alley, 'Perhaps gathering the info would be a task suited more toward Sasuke's talents.'

An ally cat came scurrying out from between a fence and stopped at his feet. The cat gave a half-growl, half-purr then trotted back to where it just came from. Juugo followed it to the end of the ally the peered through the hole in the fence. He saw a huge nin-dog padding around a couple walking past the other side of the fence.

Juugo looked at the cat who peered back at him, "Leaf?"

The cat blinked green eyes once then sat down on it's haunches to casually lick a paw.

"I see," grumbled Juugo then tossed a tidbit of dried fish to the cat, "I suppose your job is done. Time to do mine." He flashed from the ally and appeared on the rooftops above Kiba and Hinata. The Juugo ducked behind a shed when he caught a brief glimpse of her white eyes, 'Damn... better keep my distance.'

Several stories below, Kiba watched Hinata fidget like a frightened mouse as they strolled through the noisy food market. Her byakugan was at the ready and her eye switched to every suspicious shadow in the crowd. Fishermen threw their catch from the trucks and into the hands of eager vendors. The scent of raw seafood filled the air and made Hinata twitch from one smelly stall to the next.

"I can tell the difference you know, " Kiba whispered softly in her ear and he winked when she glanced at him, "Even with my eyes closed I can tell what are dead or alive. Mist nin have a quality to their scent. Trust me, you're perfectly safe right now and you can give your bloodline a break."

"B-but-"

Kiba reached out with a finger, lifted Hinata's chin and gently stroked the pad of his thumb along her skin. "Hinata, whoever Ao happened to defeat and take the byakugan, he or she must have been a badly trained Hyuuga. Through the years I have watched you become a capable kunoichi that belongs in the Bingo Books and I am confident that you can hold your own."

A smile slowly made it's way on her face and she gave him a determined nod, "Okay." She looked left then right and noticed that they were now among the fruit and spices stands. She had a sudden urge to bake a huge batch of sweets for the man who made her smile.

"Oh look, there's a grocery and they're having a sale. I-I wonder if they have any fresh butter, baker's chocolate, and powdered sugar. Maybe if I add a touch of citrus..." She hurried across the street to pick up an orange and gave the rind a careful sniff.

A loud gurgle from his stomach reminded Kiba of the last batch of homemade chocolates Hinata gave him and he whimpered from the lingering gastronomical trauma. "Look at the clock my how time flies. We gotta go. No need to spend money on sweets. That's a good girl." With Akamaru following, Kiba led Hinata out of the market and toward a park.

Hinata's voice quivered as she tried to explain that Sakura had messed with the valentine chocolates, "B-bu-but."

"That's what I mean, Hinata-chan. If you keep making sweets all the time, then we'll end up with great big butts!"

"So you actually ate them? Th-those awful chocolates I gave you?" She forced him to stop and pulled her hand from Kiba to get his attention.

Blushing from Hinata's intense stare, Kiba scratched his brown hair and mumbled, "Well yeah! You made them and I didn't want to hurt your feelings. It was obvious you worked hard on them. Most girls would buy boxes off the store shelves, not bother making 'em by hand." Feeling higher than ever, it was her turn to drag him by the hand and lead them to a park bench.

As they sat on the bench, she sighed and smiled at her teammate, "I didn't think anybody noticed. Thank you, Kiba-kun. This is what I needed to relax and I feel so much better."

"Now that's a good girl," Kiba reached over and pulled Hinata into what was supposed to be a quick hug. His hand lingered for a moment on her hair then he reluctantly released her. Kiba coughed then immediately began scratching the top of Akamaru's head.

Hinata didn't know if Kiba's good hearing could pick up her heart beating like a thundering drum. She managed to stop her forefingers from tapping by folding her hands together but the thumbs twirled one over the other, "K-Kiba?"

He stopped scratching Akamaru and looked back at her, "Yes, Hinata?"

She stared at the ground, not daring to look him in the eye, "Would you do that again? I-I mean hold me close, like you did just then."

"Alright," Kiba glanced around nervously then he wrapped an arm around his teammate, "You know, Naruto should be the one sitting with you like this. Not me. It's not like you're my girl."

"What if," Hinata paused blushed slightly and whispered even softer than before, "What if it's not Naruto who I want to sit with me?" Then she finally gazed up at him with pleading eyes and held her breath, "And what if I-"

"Hey guys! What's up," came a familiar bellow from afar. Kiba and Hinata stretched forward from the bench to see Naruto and Shino strolling in their direction. Even though the two fellows were a minute or two away, Kiba was quick to remove his arm and crossed them tightly to his chest.

He casually returned to his attention back at Hinata, "Sorry, I didn't catch that last bit. What did you say again?"

She blinked her wide eyes at an approaching Naruto then over at Kiba, who was already fidgeting with guilt written all over his face. Feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, the poor kunoichi pulled into herself and mumbled, "Nothing important."

As Naruto barreled toward Kiba and Hinata, Shino carried a box under one arm and walked to his unusually gloomy teammates with care. There was a distinct feeling of nervousness in the air that anyone could sense. That is, anyone but Naruto.

"So Hinata-chan," Naruto rumpled the top of her hair despite the girl's squeaking for him to stop, "You look much better than this morning. You were such a mess, more bundle of nerves than a cat that's been kicked across town. Good thing Kiba has that magic touch with ya', huh?"

Noticing how both Kiba and Hinata burned bright red, Shino was quick to interrupt, "Why don't we head home. We have everything we need and Sakura is waiting for her next lesson."

Hinata jumped from the bench, "Th-that's right! How is Sakura doing, Shino?"

"She," He paused to think of the most diplomatic way to put it, "Lacks confidence."

"Oh dear," whispered Hinata.

Naruto grinned as the whole group walked with him down the street, "But we left Sasame with her. Hopefully she'll help Sakura get her mojo back."

Twenty minutes later the four of them walked through the door to find Sakura standing in the middle of the living room with arms crossed and a smile shining as bright as the sun. She put one hand on a hip then swung a challenging finger at a stunned Shino.

"YOU! ME! BEDROOM!" Then Sakura's tongue stumbled as her own words echoed inside her head, "Er- uh, I mean..."

Her inner self gave Sakura a nudge and reminded her, 'That's exactly how Sakura the sex goddess would say it. Don't correct yourself and just go with the flow.' So she quickly clammed up and jutted her chin forward.

Shino walked by Sakura and towards the bedroom. He stopped beside Sakura long enough to lower his shades and give her a sly wink. He continued to the room as she felt the blush rush from her toes to her big forehead.

Sensing that her friend's new found confidence was faltering, Sasame held a bottle of sake high and swirled the alcohol temptingly, "Got some liquid courage, if you need it." Sakura frowned, shook her head, and followed after Shino. She was determined to do this entirely on her own without any crutch.

When Sakura entered the room, her face fell when Shino lifted a box of playing chips from under his arm and placed it on the coffee table, "Uh, what's in there."

"Chips, of course. For betting."

"Oh! Nice, very good thinking!" Sakura nervously looked around the room as she tried to figure out a distraction that would give her a chance to chuck the chips, "I SAW A MOUSE! OH MY GOD, A MOUSE JUST RAN PAST YOUR FOOT!" She climbed up on the table and started screaming, pointing to the floor.

"Where?" Shino knelt down and searched the floor, "Where did you see it?"

"Over there in the corner. Get it! Kill it!"

He picked up bags and pillows to toss them aside, "Which corner?"

Getting impatient, Sakura threw her hands up and growled, "I don't know! Pick one!" Once his back was turned, she swiped the box from the table and tossed it out the window,

Outside in the street, Sai wandered back to the apartment and he noticed a suspicious shadow jumping away from the opposite side of their street. Whoever it was, he had a large build and flowing cloak. Never a good sign. Sai was about to follow when another shadow from above caught his attention. He looked up and held out his hands. A cardboard box dropped in his grasp and he waved it several times to catch the falling chips. He peered inside at the colorful discs then back up at the apartment windows.

Upstairs, Shino turned around to find the chips gone, "Where's the box?"

Sakura calmly stepped on the floor and dusted off her medic apron, "No idea. Maybe the mouse got it."

He cocked an eyebrow above the rim of his shades, "A mouse carried off an entire box?"

"Yup. But, HEY, look at what we have. Kunai, shuriken, and all kinds of neat stuff just lying around. Why not be resourceful, like the shinobi we are, and use our equipment for betting... huh? Huh?" As the seconds ticked by, Sakura could feel the sweat bead on her large forehead.

"You owe me five hundred yen." He sat down and began shuffling the deck, taking extra care to examine the cards and make sure none of them had been marked.

When Sai came through the front door, Naruto was quick to pull the chips out from his teammate's hands, "Hey, where did you get that box?"

"I'm not sure," Sai reached into the box and let the chips fall down between his fingers, "I was walking along when it rained colorful plastic disks."

Kiba scratched the back of his head in confusion, "Aren't those supposed to be Shino's chips?"

As Naruto was walking out of the living room to return Shino's property, Sasame quietly opened a window then walked up to him, "Hey, those look cool, can I see 'em?" He handed the box to her without thinking twice. Before anyone could react, she punted the box right out the window.

"SO," she clapped her hands together, "Who's up for a movie?"

...

Everything seemed to be going so well, until it became obvious that Sakura was up to something. Shino was already suspicious at the beginning, but the cards remained completely untampered. So he chalked it up to Sakura acting weird again. Then as each game went by, the weaponry that she would drop on the table became more exotic and the pile beside him was getting pretty high, while Sakura's seemed never to disappear.

"A pair of queens and three jacks," said Shino automatically and slid the winnings to his side, "I win again."

Throwing her three nines on the table, Sakura sulked at losing another hand, "Kuso! But that's okay. There's more where that came from and my luck could change any minute now." Like a child looking for her security blanket, Sakura extended her foot backwards to check that Tenten's weapon scroll was still hidden right behind her seat under her dwindling supply of kunai and shuriken.

Shino nodded amicably, but he had been keeping count and the discrepancy was too hard to miss, 'If that's the way she wants to play, then let's even the odds.' He waited until Sakura was engrossed in her cards then gave a command to his kikai. A stream of bugs slipped unnoticed from under his coat and down his pants leg.

There was a rustle from Kiba's pack and Sakura did a double take. She leaned to the side then motioned to the open flap, "What was that?"

"What was what," said Shino without missing a beat.

She pointed to Kiba's pack, "I could have sworn that bag moved."

"Are you worried that the big bad bag will attack you?" Shino made a playful show of trying to peek at her unguarded hand.

Sakura sneered and pulled her cards close to the vest, "Oh ha-ha... Just get back in your seat." She returned to figuring her strategy that she didn't see how Kiba's bag deflated while Shino's kunai doubled in number.

He threw five kunai into the middle, "You in, Sakura?"

"Yeah," she threw in the kunai then fuddled with her last shuriken, 'Not good. I need something more.' She squinted as her fingers fumbled through Tenten's scroll for the last weapon, 'Feels big and heavy. A bomb? A mace, maybe?' Whatever that thing was, it needed more chakra than usual to release from the scroll.

'Ah why not, I've gotten this far.' She pushed more chakra to strengthen her arm and swung the heavy object in the air. The weapon landed on the table and embedded itself with a thundering crack. It was a war ax, twice the size of Sakura and five times as heavy. The crushing weight from the monster made the table wobble and shake.

Shino peered around the left blade of the double-headed ax and calmly said to the horrified kunoichi, "Sakura, my ability to play dumb does have it's limits."

Tired of the horseplay, he held out his palm and demanded in a sharp voice, "Whatever it is, hand it over now!"

Pouting from the shame of letting herself get carried away, Sakura reached behind then slapped the scroll into his waiting hand.

He waved Tenten's scroll then tossed it in the corner, "I know this game encourages cheating, but it quickly becomes a crutch. If you're not going to play by the rules, don't play at all."

Sakura's head drooped as Shino lectured her, "I'm really, really sorry, Shino. I won't do it again."

'At least not to me,' Shino could almost hear Sakura's thoughts while watching her apologize, "Let's start this over from the beginning and this time, there better be nothing up your sleeve."

As promised, Sakura kept on the up and up, holding steady through the next hour. She noted how Shino kept his bets small and predictable. She did the same, knowing that he was studying this new Sakura to see if any of her old tells showed. Taking Sasame's advice to heart, Sakura stopped worrying about hiding her tells and concentrated on playing up her new persona. It frustrated her that despite turning on the charm, he continued to ignore her cutesy glances or girly giggles. At one point she was so convinced of Shino's superior abilities, she had concluded that the guy simply had no tells. He was cool as ice and his body language was silent as a rock.

Then when she least expected it, Shino's weaknesses jumped out at her like black cats hidden among dark shadows. When he had a strong hand, his tongue would just slightly flicker along the inside of his bottom lip and when he planned to bluff, his nose would twitch from the weight of his shades resting on the bridge of his nose. The rush of lying increased his blood pressure just enough to make his glasses uncomfortable and there was nothing he could do to control that!

Sakura forgot her new personality for a moment and her green eyes went wide with delight.

"I fold," said Shino abruptly as he threw his cards down and pushed the weapons to Sakura's side.

Sakura blinked and glanced down at her cards. She held an ace deuce, not usually a winning hand. She was about to ask Shino why he gave up so easily when it dawned on her that Shino misread her reaction. He assumed her widening eyes meant she had a solid hand. Sakura nearly hopped from her seat and crowed for joy. She gave off her first false tell and it tricked the Aburame.

'But that is not what the sex goddess would do,' reminded her inner self, 'Keep cool, girl. Show him you're confident.'

Sakura smiled coyly and waited for Shino to finish shuffling the deck. As she looked over the cards, Sakura kept as stoic as possible, hopefully hiding any more tells. It was another crappy hand. Only two ways to go, she could throw 'em out or go the distance. She looked over at Shino and observed him fiddle with his cards, which was odd because he didn't usually do that. He could be giving her a false tell this time.

'OR he's got a good hand and probably feeling pretty confident,' Inner Sakura rubbed her hands eagerly and cackled, 'That's perfect. We can lure the cocky bastard then drop the bomb on him. Remember, you are the sexy goddess!'

She picked up her ante and plopped them in the middle, "Here's ten shuriken and I'll raise it with three kunai."

"Very well," he threw the weapons on the table, "And I'll add ten more kunai."

Normally, Sakura would have tossed her cards down. But this time she sneered, "I'll see your raise and bump it up."

"With what? Those were the last of your stuff," Then Shino paused and watched the kunoichi stand then unhitch the belt on her medic apron, "Um, you don't have to go that far."

She stopped for a moment to observe his reaction then gave him a sly smile that made him melt on the inside, "I believe I do." Sakura turned to the side in a little show of modesty, but was still giving him a profile of her slipping the apron down her legs and rounding the hips a bit to tease the guy.

Even though Sakura was wearing black shorts underneath, Shino felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, 'Damn. She's catching on.'

"So can you handle it or not." She glanced at the small number of kunai left in his pile and wiggled her eyebrows.

He sniffed and threw in the last of his weapons.

She wiggled a little dance in her seat, "You've come up a short. Looks like I win!"

Shino stopped her hands from pulling in her winnings, unzipped his long coat, took off each sock, then slowly pulled his shirt over his head, "The socks should make up for the missing kunai and I raise you by a shirt." After setting the clothes on the pile, a bare-chested Shino sat back down and watched Sakura deliberate her next move.

"I can do you one better," she reached behind and under her red top, little bit of wrangling with the hooks and she pulled her bra out one side of the armhole, "AND..."

Shino bit the inside of his cheek as Sakura boldly pulled her shorts off then swung them around a finger before it joined the other clothes.

Sakura looked him with a straight face, "Pants for pants, that is if you have the balls to go in."

That brought Shino's fantasizing about the kunoichi lounging in her underwear to a screeching halt, "You're bluffing. Those cards can't be that good."

She sang prettily, "If you don't put up the dough, then you'll never know."

'Fuck this,' thought Shino, 'I wanna see how far she's willing to take this.' He stood up, undid his pants and ignored how she snickered to find him wearing black boxers with tiny ladybugs on them. Then Shino slid the dark sunglasses off his nose, held Sakura's gaze with his own dark brown eyes, and placed the sunglasses in front of her.

He watched her nervously chew her bottom lip, "This is it. I'm calling you out. Are you gonna pony up or fold?"

All that remained on Sakura was the underwear and her red top. Sakura thought that she was sneaky by using her bra early, but now she literally had next to nothing to lose.

'Do it,' shouted Inner Sakura, 'You still have two pieces to work with and all he's got left are his boxers. The sex goddess would have been bare-ass naked earlier and had the game in the bag!'

She squeezed her eyes shut and chanted silently, 'The sex goddess can do this, so I can do this!' Sakura felt his eyes tracking her hand like a hawk. Shino was unaware how he had stopped breathing as he wondered if she had it in her. Then she paused halfway down then switched from the buttons on her red mandarin collar to reaching down over her hip and hooking a thumb under the rim of her panties.

'Come ON,' thought both Shino and Inner Sakura.

"I can't!" Sakura threw her cards down in defeat and spat out, "I'm out and you win again. When we get back to Konoha, I'll do your laundry for two weeks." She re-buttoned her top and grabbed her black shorts from the floor.

As he watched her get dressed, Shino was unnerved that his student folded under pressure yet again, but there was a small part of him that found Sakura's modesty quite charming. Too bad that he had to burn that out of her.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it.

AN: Yup, it took a while and finally there's a lemon. I'll admit it. I'm an incorrigible tease. Lemony goodness. Yum.

"If it were human it would know me in a lost place come and show me

Hold me and control me and then melt me slowly down... Like chocolate."

- Chocolate by Kylie Minogue

Chapter Eight

Shino watched Sakura carefully as she finished hitching her top closed and a plan began to take shape. "It was a nice try, Sakura," he said in hopes of bolstering her confidence again. "You're learning to think around the rules. Now as for my winnings," Shino stood from the table and reached for his glasses resting on one side of the pile, "I can do my own laundry."

Sakura glanced around in confusion, "Then what do you want?"

Knowing better than not to answer that loaded question, Shino simply slid his shades back on and took her by the hand, "Right now, for you to follow me." He led Sakura to a mirror hanging on the wall and waved a hand over their reflections, "Find three of your most comfortable facial expressions and those are the only ones you will be allowed to use for the next ten minutes."

She stared at him through the mirror, "What is this supposed to be?"

He stepped back to give her a wider sense of personal space, "This is an exercise in keeping a proper poker face during a stressful situation. If you fail, I'll add another favor to your tab."

Sakura frowned and put one hand on her hip, "Since when was I running a tab?"

"Since you landed on my foot and drooled on my toes the other night. A foot massage should cover that nicely." Shino chuckled at the scowl on Sakura's face, "Will that be one of your expressions?"

"No wait! Give me a moment." She tried on several facial expressions in the mirror for a while then nodded at Shino. "Okay, here's a soft sweet smile, then mild surprise and last but not least," Sakura posed prettily with fluttering lashes and a fingertip on her lower lip, "A super sexy pout."

Shino stared at her from behind his dark lens and frowned slightly, "You look like you're about to blow chunks."

Annoyed, Sakura turned from the mirror and growled, "It's a sexy pout. I'll have you know this is the same expression I used when Sasuke-kun and I were genin and we were going to kiss."

"And then he threw up."

"NO! He ran away, but only because he was really, really..." Sakura felt her heart sink as her voice faded to a soft whisper, "Shy." The idea of Uchiha Sasuke of ever being shy went beyond absurdity and the pathetic excuse only reminded Sakura of how she kept deluding herself.

Shino gently held her by the shoulders then circled Sakura towards the mirror, "Never mind him. Why don't we get started with the exercises. You're allowed to use those expressions as much as you want, while my goal is to distract until you break."

Sakura stuck her nose in the air and confidently stated, "I'm ready. Do you're worst!"

He started fairly simple. First, he tugged on her hair with no reaction other than The Soft Sweet Smile. She didn't even blink when he alternated using his fingertips tickling under her left and right arms. The Sexy Pout made an appearance next so Shino reached around gave the tip of her nose a tweak. Nothing. She didn't react like he thought she would. But then that was school yard teasing anyone would be immune to by now.

Feeling triumphant, Sakura eased into her Sweet Smile and claimed, "This is easy."

"I'm glad you think so." He took a step back then abruptly poked two fingers into the sides of her waist. If at any other time someone had hit her secret tickle spots in a surprise attack like that, Sakura would have landed on the floor, grasping at her sides and laughing her little derriere off. This time Sakura's eyes shot open, a slight squeak popped from her lips, but she managed to move from The Sweet Smile and into Mild Surprise without truly breaking from character.

"Very good. I see my tactics will have to change," said Shino as he watched her, crossed arms across his chest, and hummed thoughtfully, "You really should think about keeping the hitai ate tied around your forehead instead on top of your hair. Less glare that way."

Irritation flickered along Sakura's face, but she changed it into the Sweet Smile, "And how long have you been holding on to that one?" She kept the smile plastered to her face though there was a hard glint in her green eyes.

He smirked at the kunoichi's reflection in the mirror, "Longer than was necessary. My apologies. Truth be told, you are beautiful, Sakura." To his relief, the ice in the smile melted and warmth shined in her eyes again.

When Sakura's lips puckered for her Sexy Pout, he risked another jab, "Although, I couldn't help noticing the size difference between you and Ino. I was amused to see that you bothered wearing a bra today. Don't you think those might be a waste of money?" And the irritation was back with a vengeance. She held onto the Sexy Pout, but her skin glowed red and Shino could imagine steam shooting out from her ears.

"Careful, Sakura," he warned her while stepping half a step back, "You haven't changed expressions, but you're about to break character. Calm your mind and push away the emotions." She took in a slow breath, returning to the Sweet Smile, and as she released the air, Shino patiently waited for her skin to ease into it's original peaches and cream complexion.

"Sure, Ino has the milkmaid cleavage you could ski down, but any guy would be hard pressed to find legs as impressive as Haruno Sakura. That sexy line of your hip that curves into the thigh could make men pay good money just to see you walk past them. There are many who desire bedding that gorgeous body of yours, myself included. You obviously didn't realize how dangerous it was when you stripped those shorts in front of me," He moved even closer to her, "The best way to describe such foolishness would be like dangling candy in front of a starving man."

"I'm candy?" she whispered against the shaking fingertip poised on her suddenly sensitive lips, making the digit feel like a tickling feather. Sakura could feel her own heart beating fast and tried to concentrate on anything but the man murmuring against the shell of her ear.

"A delicious temptation, sweet... addictive," He shut his eyes, breathed in the heady scent of her hair, and whispered in a darker, deeper tone, "I can't tell you how many times I wanted to see that lovely smooth skin flush to my touch, those green eyes looking into mine with that soft voice moaning for more."

Sakura was having a tough time keeping her head on straight. Shino hadn't touched her for a while and he managed to tilt her world on it's axis. All he did was speak words in her ear with that voice and she easily became unglued from the inside out. Sakura became all too aware that while she had managed to get mostly dressed, he wore nothing but his boxers. Shino's body heat felt enticingly warm as he stood only a breath away. Her lids felt distressingly heavy though she watched Shino like a hawk and her once calm breathing had deepened.

A part of Shino told him to be careful. He was enjoying this a little too much, that was evident from the bulge in his boxers. But one glance in the mirror and the arousal on her face was so hypnotic that the rest of him said, 'You are not going to get another chance at this. Take it now.' His hand reached forward to lightly brush the back of her neck, shifted Sakura's pink locks to one side, and leaned forward making his breath run hot over the exposed skin. He cupped her breast through the fabric of her top while the other hand slid across Sakura's torso and pulled her backwards into him so she could feel his hard-on press against her body.

One sharp intake of her breath was all the warning she gave him. He was quick with the Log Substitution Jutsu as her fist barreled to his face at high speed. The log caught the force of her pent up emotions, bursting into splinters and chunks that lodged themselves into the wall

Huffing and puffing, a red-faced Sakura screeched at Shino who was standing in a corner a safe distance away, "How dare you! That is sexual harassment!"

Shino nodded at her accusation, "You are correct."

She paused and gaped that the Aburame nin remained so calm despite nearly getting killed, "Then why?"

"Because you need to be ready for this from your opponents," He slowly walked up to Sakura until they were face to face, "The tournament starts in three nights and we're running out of time. Using your body as a distraction was a good idea, but did it occur to you that I am also adept in pushing the buttons that set you on edge? I made you feel so uncomfortable it triggered your Fight or Flight instinct. Sexual harassment is a weapon and in a high stakes game, the other players are going to use it. You need to expect that kind of treatment then turn the tables on them," He directed her attention to the bits of wood embedded in the plaster, "But not by knocking them through a solid wall."

"Ah," Embarrassed that she lost her cool yet again, Sakura's eyes slid downward and she sadly sighed, "So you didn't really mean all those things you said about me. It was just a means to an end." She didn't see him slowly removing his sunglasses that hid the hunger evident in his dark eyes.

Before Sakura realized his intent, Shino's hand wrapped behind her neck and held her in place. He dipped down and caught her lips with his, locking Sakura to him with as much passion he could muster. Shock stopped her from pummeling him, even when his other hand reached over her rear end and pressed their lower halves together. Then again, his bold move felt like sweet relief from the torture he had put her body and mind through.

Shino was the one to break away to regain some sanity. Hovering his head to her forehead, he gently rubbed his thumb along her neck and murmured, "I meant every word and I intend to show you how much." He claimed her lips again, moving his hand from Sakura's neck to dig his fingers in her pink hair. Not sensing any resistance, he deepened the kiss by changing the angle, slipping in his tongue and seemingly fill the whole of her mouth.

As her own arms wrapped around Shino, Sakura loved how her head continued to spin from the rush of desire while her body tingled with every stroke of his roving hands. She allowed herself be taken by the calculated seduction that Shino spun around her, sinking willingly deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of lust. It felt so good to be desired, to be claimed by someone who rarely threw caution to the wind. Sakura never gave a second thought about her hands moving on their own or to her clothes that seemed to disappear.

For a split second Shino hesitated to use the closest sleeping pad because Kiba would smell the aftermath and go into a possessive fury. But when a stark naked Sakura draped herself on the first pad she could find, Shino decided that his teammate could go fuck himself. He snatched his shirt from the table and twisted it until shaped into a thick cord. Then he knelt on the mat beside Sakura, grabbed both her wrists in one of his own hands and placed them high above her head.

"What?" She was about to protest when Shino's mouth descended on that tender spot right where the neck meets the shoulder blade and sucked with intense pressure. She lost all thought from the surprise kiss and Shino's shirt winding around her wrists went unnoticed.

As he dragged a shuddering moan from Sakura, Shino knotted the shirt tightly, making sure he would have a spare second to escape should Sakura change her mind. He lifted from her for a moment to drink in the sight of the kunoichi spread before him and waiting, heaving with half-lidded eyes begging for his next move. So long her dreamed of touching her, he wanted to savor every second before reality set in. His fingertips drifted over her abdomen, barely brushing and tickling her skin all the while watching the changing expressions on her face with quiet fascination. When Shino reached her legs, his index and middle fingers pushed between her nether-lips to gently roll her clit between the tips.

She bit down on her lower lip to keep a desperate whine from breaking into an all out scream. Each twist of his fingers brought another twitch out of her body and when he added rubbing the pad of his thumb to test. The increased slip on his fingertips told him that she was more than ready for him to take her, but Shino wanted to savor every second. Watching such a emotionally responsive creature unravel to his touch was nothing short of amazing. Shino wanted to commit to memory every sound that he pulled from her. His body screamed for attention and his erection strained in his boxers. It was to the point that Shino's hunger was on the verge of overwhelm his self-control and let his mating instinct run wild.

Giving into his need, Shino sped his fingers then moved down to graze his teeth along Sakura's hardened pink nipple. A slight nip at the peak made her gasp then he followed with dragging his tongue along the skin to once again soothe the tender nerves. After sliding out of his boxers, he moved lower trailing kisses occasionally lingering enough to leave a tiny love bite on her creamy white skin. She whimpered when he pulled his hand from her clit then caressed both hips in his palms. Sakura opened her eyes with the haze of lust reflected in her green eyes and felt him raise her hips to meet with his own.

He thrust into hard and fast into Sakura causing both to gasp from the abrupt sensation. Fighting for every last bit of sanity, Shino held still for a moment. He wanted this to last longer and if she remained that tight, it will end in the next few seconds. He grabbed her right leg by the ankle and lifted the limb to rest against his shoulder then steadily bent forward until they were nearly chest to chest. The surrounding flesh opened enough to ease the tension around his cock, but still felt her muscles squeezing around him. Shino rolling his hips forward, he found it easier to thrust deeper inside Sakura and harder against her cervix. Each push, every slide further and longer into her created the layers of tension and pleasure built one upon the other. His strokes drove faster until the orgasm crashed into her and her body clamped down on his length. As much as he tried, Shino failed to keep control and felt the intense surges slam through him until everything he had was spent. He wasn't sure how, but Shino managed to pull out then fall next to the equally exhausted Sakura.

As his eyelids slowly blinked, Shino turned to see Sakura also looking at him with the same strange satisfied wonderment. He hadn't planned on taking Sakura so abruptly and she certainly was caught by surprise at their chemistry. She gave him a soft smile that melted away when sleep took over. Before he did the same, Shino reached toward Sakura to brush strands of stray pink hair from her forehead then gently caress his palm along her cheek. Never let it be said that Aburame Shino would pass up an opportunity when the odds were in his favor.

...

After bribing the cashier to let them sneak Akamaru through the side door, the five shinobi relaxed to an afternoon of watching the newest action flick from the famous movie director, Makino. Naruto and Sasame openly flirted with each other to the confusion of the others. Sai switched between staring at Naruto then flipping through his library book for some explanation, not paying any real attention to the movie. Kiba watched Hinata from the corner of his eye the entire time, but he didn't pick the slightest hint of jealousy or possessiveness from the young woman. In fact, Hinata seemed quite content to sit next him in the theater and ignore the couple canoodling like reunited sweethearts. Naruto even managed to sneak a long kiss in the dark from Sasame that had Kiba's blood boiling.

For years he watched Hinata moon over that bumbling idiot and when she confessed her love to Naruto on the battlefield, Kiba felt like his world caved in on him. It was his undying loyalty and friendship to Naruto that kept Kiba from tearing his rival apart. And now? Now! They both sat in front of him as if his stepping aside for their love was a useless sacrifice. He kept his temper under control into the end of the movie then stormed out of the theater. The rest of the group joined him on the street and carefully followed him toward the apartment. Even a cautious Akamaru padded a safe distance from his master just in case the guy took out his anger on whoever happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Naruto didn't like the sour attitude that Kiba was directing at everyone and when they reached the stairs to the complex, he slammed an arm across Kiba's path, "Spit it out! What crawled up your ass and died?"

Kiba glared at Naruto and poked the guy in the chest, "How long? How could you hide something like this from everyone?" Sai was about to defend his teammate when Sasame held him by the arm and shook her head.

"It was a private matter, K-Kiba-kun," whispered Hinata while she fiddled her fingers nervously, "We didn't want anyone to make a big deal of it."

Naruto held his ground against a furious Kiba, "Like you are now. Seriously, dude! Why is it any of your business?"

Put on the spot, Kiba froze and sputtered, "Because... because..." He turned to stare at Hinata, who blushed from how he openly gazed lovingly at her. 'Damn it, damn, damn, damn it!,' thought Kiba and he felt like pummeling the shit out of Naruto or climbing the nearest rooftop to howl victorious at the top of his lungs. Either way, causing a scene in the street was not what he imagined when confessing his love to his beautiful Hinata. She deserved so much better.

Naruto glanced repeatedly between Kiba and Hinata before he realized what the Inuzuka was hinting at, "Wait! Really? You're in love with Hinata-chan? Why didn't you say something, man!" He slapped a hand on Kiba's back and pushed the dumbfounded guy toward Hinata. "There's nothing in the way. So quit gawking and kiss her already."

Kiba squeezed his eyes shut to control his temper and growled, "Don't you think that you've interfered enough, Naruto."

"Hey, I'm only trying to get the ball rolling for you two. If you need any advice on handling Hinata-chan, don't hesitate to ask me. There's this little place in the middle of her lower back. Hit that spot when you're getting it on and you'll drive her wild."

Kiba and Hinata shouted in unison, "SH-SHUT UP, NARUTO!"

Inside the apartment, a contented Sakura curled beside Shino while her mind swam in a fog of confusion and pleasure. Feeling black and blue from the inside out shouldn't leave her so satisfied and all sense of time went out the window. It felt like they had been lying in the afterglow for only a few minutes when they heard Kiba and Naruto's raised voices echoing in the hall outside the front door of the apartment.

"Oh crap!" Tearing the shirt wrapped around her wrists as it it was a spiderweb, Sakura crawled off the mat as fast as she could and searched the room for her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Shino pushed off his back and rested on one elbow as he watched Sakura attempt put on her underwear only to trip over her feet a couple times.

"The others are home," She threw on her red top then went looking for her shorts, "We shouldn't be seen together like this. Shizune-neesan says it's important to keep an air of decorum during missions or we risk looking like fools in front of our teammates which might be reflected in the reports. So far this year I managed to keep a perfect record. Perfect!" The poor thing tugged down the hem of her shirt after fastening all the hooks in a crooked pattern.

He tilted his head to catch the tiny trickle of his semen along her inner thigh and hid a smirk, "Perhaps Shizune-san meant that we should not put ourselves in the kind of predicament we find ourselves in at this very moment. It's a little late to worry about dignity, Sakura." When she continued to freak and ignore his advice, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was nothing else for him to do. Shino picked himself up so he could find his clothes.

Inner Sakura hopped around in her head in hopes of stopping the real Sakura, 'You are certifiable! You can't leave the room looking like this. Look at this, you're not even walking right, more like lurching or waddling! Yes, definitely feeling some waddling going on.'

'Shut up! There is nothing for them to see,' Sakura looked in the mirror, licked a palm, and rapidly smoothed her hair down with both hands, 'I am the perfect picture of calm and composure. Besides... I am hella thirsty.' She carefully stepped to the door, not entirely sure how steady her feet were, but Sakura hoped they led her to someplace where she could quench that thirst.

There was a thumping, rustling sound from down the hall that made Naruto and Kiba put their yelling on hold. When the bedroom door opened, all eyes and ears perked up. Sakura came through the hall using the wall as leverage and looking a little worse for wear. Sasame was about to ask how the training was going when they all got a good look at the kunoichi with her top attached in a haphazard line, lips red and puffy, and the edge of her panties sticking out the top of her shorts. Everyone watched Sakura wobble and weave to the kitchen without taking notice of her concerned audience. Then they heard Shino's heavy footsteps as he marched to the bathroom and locked the door.

Akamaru pawed at his master's pants leg with a soft woof and Kiba nodded, "Yeah, I can smell him on her too."

Inside the kitchen, Sakura opened the freezer and dug out a handful of ice cubes. She filled a cup with ice water, but drinking down the cold liquid wasn't enough to satisfy the heat still burning inside her. She tipped the cup to catch a piece of ice in one hand and pressed it to the back of her neck. Sliding a freezing ice cube along her skin, Sakura's mind returned to Shino's lips that had recently kissed and a low moan came from her throat. She had been kissed by others, but they never conveyed intense passion like Shino did and with the promise of far more in the future. Sakura instinctively traced upward the tip of an ice cube then over her bottom lip to slip it onto her tongue.

Hinata sidled close to her friend and whispered, "Is everything alright, Sakura? D-did the training go well?"

Careful to keep his distance in the kitchen doorway, Kiba raised his nose to catch a whiff and found the scent of arousal rising from Sakura. He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned knowingly, "She has a point, Haruno. Did anything interesting happen?"

Sakura nearly choked on the ice she was sucking on and was quick to spit it out, "No, nothing happened! Absolutely nothing that could possibly happen, happened!"

Naruto laughed as the kunoichi refused to look them in the eyes, "Wow! That wins today's award for making absolutely no sense and I was on a streak too."

Kiba tapped Naruto and stuck a thumb in her direction, "Heh, from my perspective someone just got laid and is hungry for more." Ice cubes went flying from Sakura's hands as she pelted Kiba and Naruto, making them run for the safety of the living room. "Ow ow! Crazy bitch!"

As Sakura returned to the freezer, Sasame patiently waited for the other to calm down before pointing out, "THAT is what I was talking about the other night."

"Huh? About what?" With a shuddering intake of breath, Sakura didn't bother putting the last piece of ice back in the cup and she let what was left of the cube drop past neck to slide down her heated skin until it melted into a streak of water.

Sasame grinned proudly at how far Sakura had progressed, "Seducing the men around you by presence alone. Look at yourself! You are ready to jump any guy who happens to be breathing, but from the looks of it you're making do with a frozen popsicle. Remember this feeling the next time you play poker and use that attitude to throw your opponents for a loop."

The dark blond kunoichi reached over to Sakura's mandarin collar, pushed the cloth to the side, and revealed the precise purple bruise, "I'm not sure what happened while we were gone, but I would say that your little plan to beat Shino didn't work."

Sakura furrowed her brow, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you look royally fucked." Sasame laughed at Sakura's despondent expression.

Inner Sakura folded her arms and sneered, 'Told ya'.'


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it.

Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

After Sasame's comment cut her to the quick, it didn't take much for Hinata to convince Sakura to take a proper name in their room. Sakura did her best to ignore the snickering from the corner that Naruto and Kiba were standing. She did manage to throw them a dirty look before heading to bed.

Shino was still in the shower when Sai looked around the other bedroom with weaponry strewn about the floor and picked up the unrolled scroll with a blank canvas, "I was not aware that Tenten was in town?"

"She's not, but that sure is one of her scrolls," Kiba took one step inside the room then quickly reared backwards with an angry burst, "Aw come on! My bed! They had to mess around in my bed! Now I'm gonna have to disinfect the whole thing. Where's the damn bleach?" In a fury, he headed for the closet to rummage for cleaning supplies.

Hinata tapped a spazzing Kiba on the arm then pulled him aside to where everyone was in the living room for a quick brainstorm, "I'm w-worried about Sakura. I'm worried about her sanity around Shino and vice versa. Perhaps it was a bad idea to leave them alone for so long. We've been letting Shino do this task by himself. All of us are invested in the mission, so all of us should be helping teach Sakura how to play poker."

Naruto wasn't so sure about that, "I don't know if we should get involved, guys. I'm surprised that you're worried about Sakura. This is Shino we're talking about. He wouldn't hurt Sakura. Would he?"

"To be honest," mumbled Kiba, "Shino and I have been talking about Sakura for the past few days. I've never seen Shino this serious about a female before. He's dated several girls before and when it comes to relationships, he plays emotions close to vest. This is new territory."

Hinata fumbled her fingers together, "P-Perhaps spending so much time alone with Sakura was too much of a temptation for even Shino to resist. If we leave them alone before they can get a grip on their feelings, then there might be an incident both will regret."

"And then it's heartbreak city. Believe it or not, Naruto," Kiba got up from the couch and headed for the bedroom before Shino was done with his shower, "We want this to work out for Shino and Sakura as well."

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, "Well, Sakura is normally very emotional and she has been closed off for the past couple years."

"And Shino has been secretly waiting in the wings for an unreachable wish. If you excuse me, this really can't wait." Everyone did a double-take when Kiba pulled out a clothespin then stuck it on his sensitive nose then headed back for the empty bedroom. Kiba slung onto his shoulder the rolled up sleeping pad that was wrapped in the soiled bedsheets.

Hinata drooped in her seat and cursed herself for not seeing it sooner, "I wondered why Shino was strangely content to be lonely through the years. The last thing they need is to be p-pushed over the edge."

Sasame lifted her chin off one hand and laughed, "What are you suggesting then? We play the chaperones and slow them down? They're a little old for that."

Hinata tapped her bottom lip in thought, "M-more like we'll gently guide them toward emotionally intimate courting rather than-"

"Wham, bam, thank you ma'am," finished Kiba then he pulled off the clothespin and gave the bundle a vindictive kick, "Again."

"Not how I would have put it," grumbled Hinata as she frowned at how crass Kiba could be at times, but she understood his distress. The poor guy's territory had been violated, "B-but that is essentially what we don't want to happen. Because Shino will feel guilty for rushing things and Sakura will feel rejected when Shino pulls the brakes."

Sasame let out along breath and offered, "Well starters, we can have a little tournament of our own to get Sakura used to playing with lots of people."

Kiba rubbed his chin, "A good idea. It'll get Sakura ready for all the crap she'll encounter. Shino is a gentleman in comparison to what creeps are out there. Those guys prefer playing cutthroat anyways so everyone don't hold back." He threw the bundle on Akamaru's back and headed for the front door, "You guys set everything up. We'll be back in an hour with snacks and beer." The others hopped up and began gathering stuff for a long night of poker.

"I'm not sure if I can bring much to the table," muttered Sai while he watched Naruto push the furniture to the walls, "I would be of better use doing some reconnaissance rather than playing card games."

Sasame patted him on the back, "If you feel up to it, Sai. There's always try your hand at the pool tables or hit the bingo hall down the street. Good luck finding anything fun in there."

Sai tilted his head in thought then nodded, "The best intel comes from the most unexpected of places. Whether it is fun or not is beside the point. After checking on the hostage Akatsuki, I will see this hall of Bingos."

"Bingo hall," corrected Naruto, "You don't wanna do that. It's going to be boring beyond belief. Nothing there but half-blind geezers and blue haired old ladies who smell like cats."

Sai picked choice supplies from his backpack and added them to his staples, "I like cats. Clean, graceful, self-sufficient."

"Scratch your face off when given the first chance," grumbled Naruto as he scowled from repressed memories of the Daimyou's cat surfaced.

Sai smiled that terrible smile of his as he walked for the door, "Then I especially like cats."

...

A bored Karin languished in her cell bed, legs crossed at the knees and bouncing an ankle in the air. It had been a couple days since she last saw any messages from that mysterious leaf nin. Not that it mattered to her. Not in the least! It won't be long before she'll be rescued properly. She picked up Juugo's presence wandering about town that afternoon. That meant Sasuke wasn't far behind and soon she'll be enjoying the freedom of the open road.

'Freedom to run by Sasuke-kun's side again. To sleep on the hard ground. To run from ANBU of several different hidden villages at once. To deal with that disgusting Suigetsu again,' On reflex, Karin clapped a hand over her mouth when a bit of bile rose in her throat.

"Ugh," Karin got up to pick up a bottle of water and swallowed quickly to wash the taste of partially digested rice and peas from her mouth. Then she felt the chakra surge of her secret visitor jutsu and nearly choked on the water. Wiping the water from her face, she rushed to the corner full of cracks where the ink usually wormed its way through. "That's weird," This time there was far more ink poured through the wall than necessary for a simple message.

Karin slowly backed away as the ink rose from the ground then converged into the image of the leaf nin. She blinked as the clone blinked back at her.

"I am called Sai," He looked Karin up and down then smiled, "I've been thinking about you, Karin."

She stepped towards the clone, flipping her red hair with one hand, "Have you now?"

"Yes, you fascinate me and I wish to gain your trust. I read in a book that if I wanted to gain a woman's trust, we must talk face to face as much as possible. This is the best I could do for the moment."

"But this is just a clone with your face. It's not really you," Karin looked the Leaf nin over and ran a hand through Sai's black strands along the left side of his head, "So this is one who's been passing me all these little notes. There must be something in Konoha's water that make you guys so hot. You remind me of someone else from the Land of Fire."

"And who would that be?" He kept the kunoichi within his peripheral vision while she dragged her slim fingers along his back and prowled around him like a cat on the hunt.

"The leader of Taka, of course," said Karin as she gushed about her leader and strutted around Sai like a proud peacock in a mating dance, "He's tall, dark, and handsome. Not to mention talented and incredibly strong."

Sai brushed her fingers off, "If you're referring to that homo, Sasuke. I'd prefer to be compared to a half dead sewer rat."

Karin sputtered angrily as she adjusted her glasses, "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun that way and he's not gay!"

"You sure?"

She stomped her foot, "Absolutely sure!"

"That he's gay."

Karin held her chin up and nodded firmly, "Yes, I mean NO!"

Red hair blew every which way as she blustered, "HE'S NOT INTO GUYS! As far as I know, he's not into anyone."

"Then he's asexual."

Karin stepped forward and hissed into his face, "He's not a plant!" She lifted her chin to meet his eyes and found the clone was nearly one head taller than her. Standing chest to chest with him, Karin noted how he didn't back up to regain personal space and that his lips were the perfect height for kissing. That smile he had was strange and it bothered Karin that a guy could set her on edge while being positively polite.

"He might as well be a plant," Sai tilted his head just slightly, fascinated with Karin's frenzied state compared with her earlier attempt to seduce him, "Since cloning is the only way he'll ever reproduce. No woman would bother with that loser, not a sane one anyways."

Karin realized that a finger was pointing to it's owner then swung both hands behind her back, "Sasuke-kun's reproduction is none of your business! Say whatever you want. I know he is coming to get me. He needs me." She walked away to take a deep breath and regain her composure.

Sai's clone shrugged then made himself comfortable on the prisoner's cot, "If that's the case, then I'd give it a fifty-fifty chance you'd make it out of here alive."

She pursed her lips angrily then asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I would peg him as the type who doesn't like to share. If he can't have what he wants, then no one can. He'd rather you be dead than become an asset for someone else. The moment you cease to be useful, he won't leave you... he'll kill you."

Karin fiddled with her glasses for five minutes as she weighed the choices set before her. The annoying clone had a point. Sasuke had been acting more bloodthirsty of late and his chakra changing to cold poison did nothing to keep his sanity. She smiled sweetly at the face of her possible rescuer, "If that's what you think Sasuke-kun is like, then tell me what would happen if I played nice and went with you."

"It would not be nice," he stated honestly.

She sat on the cot, sidled next to him and cooed, "Are you sure? Even if I fully cooperate with the Leaf?"

"I'm sure compliance would be noted and look favorably on your behalf with my superiors."

Two of Karin's slim fingers skipped along Sai's arm as she whispered in his ear, "So let's say on the off-chance you do succeed in rescuing me, what do you plan on doing with me?"

"After knocking out the guards and setting off my explosives to ensure a good lead from any pursuers, I will carry you in my arms..." Karin drew in a breath while reveling a daydream of Sai sweeping her in a strong embrace.

"And take you into the forest around the village..."

Karin just about squealed and snuggled closer to Sai, "I like where this going."

"Then hand you to the ANBU for questioning and possible mind-bending torture."

She jumped from the cot, screaming, "WHAT!"

"I told you it would not be nice." He raised his eyebrows as if it was the most simple concept to grasp.

With a snarl, Karin gave him a hard kick in the shins and stomped to other side of the room. The clone didn't move to chase after her for hurting him. There wasn't even a flicker of pain in his face. He only observed the fuming woman across the room.

He gave a small sigh and stood up from the cot, "I see that I'm no longer welcome and it's just as well since this phase of my assignment completed."

"Assignment, what assignment?"

The clone walked around to mentally gather measurements of the room, "To meet you face to face and talk. It's clear that I failed because you still do not trust me."

She crossed her arms, "Of course not! Especially after what you just said."

Sai's clone tilted his head and smiled that annoying, fake smile, "It's not my fault how you interpret what I say."

"Well, how else am I to interpret, 'Hand you to the ANBU for questioning and possible mind-bending torture?' Did you expect me to say, 'Wee, have at it! That was a different Akatsuki."

The clone shrugged and lifted his fingers in the hand sign that would release the jutsu, "Goodbye."

Feeling panic from the prospect of being left alone again, Karin rushed to the clone's side and asked, "Hey, no need to rush off so soon. Don't you need more information about me? What can be more important than reconnaissance?"

"Bingo." And the clone melted into a puddle then the ink slithered into the wall's cracks.

A thoroughly confused Karin watched the puddle slink away and scratched her head, "Er...huh?"

...

Sakura woke up from her nap just as the sun was setting. The room was half dark, half red from the dying sunlight. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Sakura could hear voices of the others echoing from the living room. She trudged into the bathroom and looked at her reflection. The girl in the mirror looked like a mess with shiny eyes refreshed from the nap. Sakura did note she was a tad flush from that afternoon's activities so she jumped in the shower. Ten minutes later, a clean Sakura timidly stepped into the living room where everyone stopped talking to look at her.

With wet pink hair plastered to her head, Sakura fiddled with the bottom of her extra-long sleep shirt and blushed from the all the attention. "Hey," she whispered shyly, "Any room to sit?" Shino slapped a hand behind Kiba's head and the guy scooted off the loveseat.

"You can have my seat, Sakura," said Kiba as gallantly as possible while glaring at his teammate. Then he made himself comfortable on the couch arm next to Hinata.

Sakura took Kiba's place on the loveseat and had difficulty looking anyone else in the eye, everyone but Shino, who she smiled at, "So what's on the agenda tonight?"

Sasame opened her arms and announced, "We decided to have a Poker Night together! Card games all night until you get it right."

"We've got snacks, beer, and a card table all set up." Naruto pointed to the kitchen, "And Sai won't be joining us. He wanted to go on reconnaissance."

Sakura frowned as they all got up and headed for the kitchen, "What, again? How often does he go out to keep an eye on Karin?"

"Since we found her? Every day, sometimes twice," Naruto ducked into the fridge and threw cans of beer to each guy, "Why do you ask?"

"Not sure," Sakura shrugged as she sat in the chair between Naruto and Hinata, "A weird thought hit me. It's not often that someone, especially a girl can keep Sai's attention for that long."

Sasame held a hand high and yelled at Naruto, "Yo! What am I, invisible?" He threw her a beer and she raised her can in cheers, "Just keep me stocked all night, baby."

Kiba tapped the cards out of the box and started shuffling them, "Alright, we'll start out simple. Five card stud then spice it up later on."

"And better hold off on raising the stakes trick," chuckled Sasame as she winked in Sakura's direction, "Last thing we need to see is you and Shino getting busy on the kitchen table."

Shino narrowed his eyes from behind his dark glasses and waved an accusing finger at the Fuuma kunoichi, "So it was you who told her about that."

Kiba stopped shuffling and side-glared at the Fuuma, "You told her?"

Sasame shrugged and flipped a casual hand in the air, "So what? She was gonna hear about it somehow and I would rather she learned in a more friendly environment."

"Asterisk," demanded Shino and tapped the paper where Sasame's name was written.

"Asterisk, it is!" confirmed Kiba and he marked the lines beside her name.

Not liking the sound of that, Sasame leaned toward Hinata and thumbed at the guys, "What are they talking about?"

"It's a Team Eight tradition," Hinata explained as she poured tea for the girls, "Anyone caught cheating is assigned an asterisk. Basically, you forfeit your first win and the money goes back into the pot."

"AW MAN," shouted Sasame as she jumped from her chair, "That's so not fair. How was I supposed to know that I'd get punished?"

Shino crossed his arms, "No excuses, now are you playing or not?"

Sasame sat back down and snorted defiantly, "Deal me in. I can take your money even with a handicap and my victory will taste all the sweeter."

"You can get an asterisk for cheating," asked Sakura.

Hinata shook her head, "No, if you get caught cheating."

Sakura felt incredibly guilty for Sasame's handicap, but she was still nervous when asking, "So am I gonna get one too? Technically, I was the one doing the cheating."

"Sasame knew what she was doing when she told you about that," grumbled Shino, "You're still learning, but no more bright ideas until you get in the habit of thinking through every angle."

The first half hour were practically throwaway games with the more experienced players basically handing Sakura their extra chips to bolster her confidence again. When she stood up and slapped both hands on the table, Sakura scowled at each of them.

"Enough! I am not a charity case. You wanted me to learn, then stop holding back."

Shino chuckled at Sakura's outburst and nodded, "The lady has spoken. Just so you realize, we're not cutting you any more slack. This time I deal and we go seven card draw, aces wild."

Sakura sat back down with a determined smile on her face, "Okay, lets go!"

Naruto took on look at his cards then pushed his entire pile into the pot. "I'm in," he grinned brightly and looked around the table for any willing to take him on, "Well?"

Hinata gave a small cough then quietly sat her cards down, "I'll p-pass. Thank you."

Kiba closed the cards in his hand, "Nope, all I got are goddamn dog balls!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Kiba, why the hell would we want to know that?"

"What? It's slang for a pair of eights. See!" He twisted his cards for her to see before tossing them on the table.

"Oh," She blushed as Inner Sakura quickly washed the mental image from her brain, "I still think it's vulgar."

Kiba smirked at the lame excuse, "Whatever babe. It's all a part of being creative with the game."

Naruto waved his hand in Kiba's face and looked around the table, "Yeah, yeah! Who else wants a piece of this?"

"I fold too," Sasame dropped her cards then grabbed some BBQ chips, "Someone certainly knows how to deal the crap. Next time Hinata deals. I get good cards when she deals."

Shino followed the others, "Yeah, same here. I'm out."

"I doubt any of these will beat Naruto." Sakura laid her cards out for everyone to see and shimmied her shoulders playfully, "But look! A One-eyed Jack or as I like to call it... A Kakashi!"

Sakura looked around the table and grinned brightly at her joke, but the group remained quiet and Sasame scratched her head, "Who?"

Shino chuckled so hard that his shoulders shook while Kiba gathered the poker cards together again, "At least she's trying to get into the spirit of things Just take the money, Naruto."

The guy laughed and threw his cards down so he could grab the pile of chips, "Boy, you guys are waaay too easy!"

Kiba picked up the 'Winning' hand and exclaimed, "A two and a seven! Oh my god, Naruto! You bluffed with a Beer Hand. Fucking insane, that's what you are!"

Confused with the new term, Sakura looked across the table at Sasame, "Beer Hand?"

"Yeah, but I prefer to call it a Pregnant Pause," Sasame replied and scowled at Naruto across the table, "Cause it means you're thoroughly screwed which this loudmouth bastard should have been."

Naruto sneered while pulling the winnings into his pile, "At least I didn't get an asterisk"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasame drawled as she stuck her middle finger at smug bastard, "You can kiss my asterisk"

The night dragged on with most of the chips piled among each of Team Eight's seats. Sasame had a fair amount, but thanks to Naruto's constant bluffing and Sakura's low confidence they were down to their last few chips.

"Almost like taking candy from a baby," grumbled Shino as he stretched his arms to get some blood back in his muscles while Kiba gave a big yawn and shook himself awake.

Sakura grumbled as she picked through her cards, "I'm glad you find us interesting company, Inuzuka. Need coffee or should I dump a bucket full of ice down your pants?"

He perked up with a snort, "I'm awake! I'm awake! My concentration is flagging, that's all. Playing for chips is getting boring. I'm not feeling the rush and without that, I just can't play my best. You know what I'm talking about, Shino? Back me up here, Hinata."

Hinata nodded and sat her cards face down, "I hate to admit it, but we might be overprotecting Sakura from the experience by not playing with real risk."

"Please," Sakura held a hand up and laughed, "I know all to well what it feels like to lose big in a game."

Kiba sneered, "Ha, losing your virginity to Shino doesn't counts as real risk."

"Where did you hear that?" Her green eyes zeroed in on a calm Shino and she raised a fist in his direction.

"No one," laughed Kiba as everyone watched Hinata gently guide Sakura back into her seat, "I guessed and you blabbed. Sakura the Card Shark wouldn't have cared one way or the other. Keep a lid on that temper. You gotta keep in character, remember."

"You're right. It doesn't matter," Swallowing her pride, Sakura settled back down and brushed stray hair from her eyes, "Besides, I didn't lose my virginity to Shino." She made sure not to pay attention to Shino's reaction to her revelation.

Kiba raised his eyebrows and nudged the stunned Aburame with his elbow, "Oh, someone got to those sweet lips faster than you. Are you gonna tell us who?" He leered at Sakura, who frowned back at the rude guy for prying.

"That is a highly personal question that I refuse to answer," said Sakura with a haughty tone.

"Now that has me curious as well," muttered Shino and he fixed her with a stare of dark eyes hovering above the line of his shades.

"Alright you two," said Naruto as he stuck his arm across the table in a protective manner, "This is none of our business. If Sakura doesn't want to tell us about her very first lover then I think we should respect her decision and leave it in the past."

There was a moment's pause as everyone digested Naruto's mature and sensible statement.

"IT WAS YOU!" The rest of the table shouted at once, making Sakura slap her own forehead and Naruto proudly grin like an idiot.

She punched him in the arm and growled, "That was real smart of you, baka!"

Shaking his head in disbelief, Kiba was stunned he never caught wind of the affair and asked, "I don't believe it. For years we've seen you two together without any change to your smell." He looked down at Akamaru who was also gobsmacked, "How did we miss that?"

Sakura casually sorted her cards, "It was on a mission in Kumo and before Naruto started dating Hinata. We realized it was a mistake and it was over as soon as it started."

Naruto's blue eyes teared up and his bottom lip quivered, "Must you keep calling our one night of passion together 'It'."

Sakura slammed her cards on the table, put both hands on hips and declared, "IT was a moment of hormonal weakness. IT will never happen again and IT will remain in the past."

"Must have not been much passion," Shino muttered deeply, "If she goes out of her way to call a one night stand 'It'." Kiba burst out laughing while giving his teammate a high five.

"Think you're so hot, huh?," Naruto narrowed his eyes at the laughter then sneered, "Take a moment, gentlemen," He circled his arms backwards to rest a palm on Sakura's shoulder then pointed to each female at the table, "That's right! The Dobe managed to lock lips with each and every one of these lovely ladies before you. So tell me who's dead last?"

"Speaking of," Sakura looked across the table at Sasame and thumbed in Naruto's direction, "Quick to the Draw here might need a little training in endurance. If you catch my drift..."

Sasame winked back at Sakura, "Gotcha."

"Hey," protested Naruto and he waved at the Hinata, "Hinata-chan, tell 'em that I've gotten much better since then."

Biting down on her tongue, Hinata pulled her cards close and high to hide a bright red blush.

Shino raised a hand until the laughter died down, "In the interest of keeping Naruto's dignity sinking any lower, why don't you deal, Kiba, and tell us what you have in mind."

"Alright," said Kiba as he dealt everyone their cards, "Seven card single draw, Boys versus Girls. The best hand of either team wins."

"But none of us have seen our cards yet," protested Sakura.

"Part of the thrill, baby and it's all or nothing. We pick up our cards when everyone is in." One by one, around the table, everyone agreed by tossing in a red chip and they picked up their cards. Now there was some real tension in the room was silent as everyone tried to hide their tells while lining up their cards. They guys were carefully watching the gals and vice versa.

"Gimme two," said Sasame as she threw in a couple cards then skimmed the new cards Kiba gave her, "So what's at stake?"

A sneaky grin stretched across Kiba's face, making his fangs glint in the light, "Losers have to strip completely naked."

Cool as a cucumber, Sasame looked down at her cards then raised an eyebrow, "In public?"

Kiba leaned one elbow on the tabled and looked the Fuuma kunoichi straight in her eyes, "Sounds good and why don't we make it in front of the billboard in the middle of downtown."

Sasame clucked her tongue, "Sure you want to add that? It gets cold out there at night."

Kiba's grin grew bigger, "All the better."

"Whoah! Let's back up here, Kiba," yelled Naruto. He didn't like how these negotiations were turning out, "I didn't hear Shino and me agreeing to going out in public."

Kiba gestured for the other guys to huddle around him and growled too low for the girls to hear, "Think of it, Naruto. It's a moonlit night with a slight chill in the air. Right now, Sasame-chan's wearing a thin t-shirt and it's gonna get real cold when she stands on that billboard ramp. She would probably welcome a strong pair of arms to warm her afterward."

The vision of a quivering Sasame yearning for his arms made Naruto smile then he peered the last guy, "Shino?"

Shino peered under the table at Sakura's legs as they beckoned for him to caress her firm thighs and his memories reminded him of the luscious hips he would see underneath her skirt, "I'm game."

Gathered into their own huddle across the table, Sakura whispered heatedly to the other two kunoichi, "I don't know, Sasame. They seem pretty happy. Shino and Kiba are damn sharp and Naruto is fairly good with bluffing with a shit hand. The odds are not in our favor."

"Relax, girls," said Sasame with a smooth smile and tapped her cards confidently with one nail, "I wouldn't have maneuvered the bet if I didn't have this in the bag." They went back to their seats and Sasame smiled, "Why don't you fellas go first."

"Okay," Kiba pointed to Naruto, "Whatcha got?"

The blond guy blushed and laughed, "Sorry, man. Only good thing here is the ace and king."

Kiba threw his hands up, "Damn it, Naruto. You should have told me you had an Ino!"

Sakura didn't like the sound of that and raised an eyebrow, "An Ino?"

"Yup! Pretty to look at," Kiba circled a finger next to his temple, "But ain't nothin' there."

Sakura fumed at the gall, "Seeing that my best friend is not here to defend herself, I find that term offensive!"

'Just ignore him, Sakura." said Naruto as he popped open a can of beer then pressed it into her hands, "Kiba's still sore about Ino dumping his ass last year."

Drumming fingers on the table, Kiba groused and grumbled under the scrutiny, "She just beat me to the punch. It was gonna happen sooner or later. Some things just can't be substituted." His quick glance in Hinata's direction made the kunoichi bite her bottom lip to stop a squeal of delight from popping out.

With the wind knocked from his sail, Kiba cleared his throat then tossed his cards on the table, "Three of a kind!"

"Six-six-six... Aw too bad," cooed Sasame as she held her hand against her chest in anticipation, "The Devil's Hand can be nice, but not quite-"

"Full house," Shino twisted his cards for everyone to see, especially for Sasame, who's face became as white as sheet.

Kiba laughed as Shino relaxed into his chair while raising his eyebrows above those blasted sunglasses, "Uh oh, gonna be hard to beat that, ladies. I knew you wouldn't let me down, Shino! Why don't you go next, Sasame-chan?"

She glanced at her cards again and muttered nervously, "Um...uh, why don't you go ahead of me, Sakura."

Sakura spread her hand out with an embarrassed smile, "I'm sorry, Sasame. Got a king and jack of clubs with a queen of diamonds."

"Hooo," Kiba howled triumphantly, "Someone got A BEATER! Too bad, Sakura. Won't do you any good."

"I know, I know," She grumbled and threw her cards down then knitted her brows in confusion, "Why's it called a beater?" She was startled when Naruto and Kiba began to snicker.

"You won't like it," whispered Hinata.

Sakura smirked as she nudged the Fuuma girl next to her with an elbow, "Come on, I want to know."

Sasame sighed and held each of the cards for Sakura to see, "Jack... King... Off."

Sakura's shoulders slumped and she swung her hands over the pile of cards on the table, "What is it with guys and adding sexual innuendos to games? There's no need. No one's turned on. If anything it makes everything sound asinine and completely juvenile."

"Exactly," confirmed Naruto and all thee guys raised their beer in cheers.

"Lecture them all you want, Sakura," said Sasame with a tired groan, "It doesn't matter since this is how it's gonna be like at the tournament and you can't teach manners to a hundred money-hungry men at once."

Sakura's hands glowed with chakra and she pounded her fist into the other palm, "I beg to differ!"

"Blending in, Sakura," Hinata touched the girl gently on the arm and whispered, "Remember, you're blending in."

"Never mind the blending anymore," interrupted Kiba as he pointed at all three women, "Right now I'm more interested in you lovely ladies in the middle of town, naked as jaybirds and standing in front of a brightly lit Icha Icha billboard. What happened to all that bravado you had, Fuuma?"

"Bastard," She hissed at Shino then flipped her cards over to reveal three of a kind, "Sevens."

"OH! OH! This is turning out better than I thought. Sorry Fuuma. As much as you want it to, Slot Machine does not beat a Full House." Kiba gave Shino a high five and slapped a reassuring palm on Naruto's shoulder. The guys laughed heartily while the frightened women huddled around Hinata on the other side of the table.

Sakura balled her shaking hands together and whimpered, "If this is Team Eight's idea of risk, I'm not sure I'll survive the tournament. You said you had it in the bag, Sasame!"

Sasame moaned, "I thought I did too. Everything's riding on you now, Hina," Stressed to the max, Sasame chewed on her thumbnail and whispered, "Tell me you have something good. You just gotta. It's easy for you to go back to Konoha after the mission. But when word hits the street that I stripped in public because I lost a poker game, my clan will never let me live it down... especially that bitch Emi."

Kiba gave Hinata a sly smile and curled a finger at the nervous kunoichi, "Come on Hinata-chan! Time to pony up. I wanna see what you're hiding."

With her blood pressure rising sky high, the shy woman squeezed her eyes shut as she slowly laid down her cards and squeaked, "I'm so sorry..."

Everyone craned from their seats to get a good look at the royal flush laid before them.


End file.
